THE  LIBRARY 

OF 
THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


METHOD  IN  HISTORY 


FOR 


TEACHERS    AND    STUDENTS 


BT 


WILLIAM   H.  MACE 

P«OT«SSOR  OF  HISTORY  IN  SYRACUSE  UNIVERSITY,  AND  AUTHOR  or 
"A  WORKING  MANUAL  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY" 


'  The  Law  In  the  Hind  and  the  Thought 
In  the  Thing  determine  the  Method" 
—  WM.  A.  JOKES 


GINN  &  COMPANY 
BOSTON  •  NEW  YORK  •  CHICAGO  •  LONDON 


COPYRIGHT,  1897 
BY  WILLIAM  H.  MACE 


ALIi  KIGHTS  BESEKVED 
510.12 


gl)t   fltftenaum 

OINN   *   COMPANY  •  PRO- 
PRIETORS •  BOSTON  •  U.S.A. 


Education 


PEEFATOEY    NOTE. 


•IKI" 


THIS  book  was  not  made  to  order,  but  grew  out  of  an 
effort,  extending  over  several  years,  to  justify  the  study  of 
the  Pedagogy  of  History  in  a  University  Normal  School. 
Out  of  almost  daily  conferences  over  the  problems  of 
general  and  special  method  arose  the  germs  of  that 
masterful  work,  The  Philosophy  of  Teaching,  by  Prof. 
Arnold  Tompkins,  University  of  Illinois,  and  of  the  present 
volume, "  Method  in  History."  It  is  particularly  gratifying 
to  me  that  this  work,  in  passing  through  the  press,  has 
again  had  the  benefit  of  Professor  Tompkins'  deep  insight 
into  the  problem  of  teaching.  The  general  principles  of 
the  book  have  had  also  the  great  benefit  of  being  reviewed 
by  Superintendent  Lewis  H.  Jones,  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and 
by  President  E.  Benjamin  Andrews,  Brown  University. 

I  am  deeply  indebted  to  Prof.  Cyrus  W.  Hodgin,  Earlham 
College,  not  only  for  friendly  encouragement  while  devel- 
oping the  work,  but  particularly  for  generous  and  valuable 
service  in  the  criticism  of  both  its  form  and  content.  I 
desire,  also,  to  express  my  obligation  to  Prof.  Moses  Coit 

1267907 


IV  PREFATORY   NOTE. 

Tyler,  Cornell  University,  for  the  exceptional  privilege  of 
working  out  a  portion  of  the  book  in  his  Historical  Seminar, 
and  for  his  scholarly  and  sympathetic  criticisms.  Finally, 
the  work  has  profited  by  the  careful  proof-reading  of  Mr. 
Herbert  P.  Gallinger,  Fellow  in  History,  Amherst  College. 

W.  H.  M. 
SYRACUSE  UNIVERSITY,  March  10,  1896. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

INTRODUCTION _ xi 

GENERAL   NATURE  OF   HISTORY. 
ESSENTIAL  ELEMENTS  OF  HISTORY. 

General  Character  of  the  Problem 1 

Erroneous  View  of  History _ 2 

Ideas  of  Form  and  Content  in  History 3 

Continuity  and  Differentiation  7 

Five  Great  Institutions  in  History 10 

The  Five  Phases  not  always  Coordinate 14 

Organic  Unity  of  Institutional  Life 15 

PROCESSES  INVOLVED  IN  ORGANIZING  HISTORY. 

General  Nature  of  Organization 19 

Organizing  Principle  of  History 20 

Fundamental  Processes  in  Organization 21 

THE    PROCESS    OF    INTERPRETATION. 

Nature  and  Kinds. 

Definition  of  Interpretation 21 

Interpretation  of  Events 26 

Forms  of  Thought  and  Sentiment  as  Discovered  in  Inter- 
pretation. 

Causes 27 

Positive  and  Negative  Causes 28 

Fundamental  and  Particular  Causes 29 

Purpose  and  Means 34 

Immediate  and  Remote  Ends 39 

Material  Presented  for  Interpretation. 

Second-hand  Material 42 

Original  Material 43 


VI  CONTENTS. 

Educational  Value  of  Interpretation.  PAGE 

Nature  of  the  Question 46 

Integration  and  Unification 46 

The  Mechanical  Historical  Whole , 47 

The  Organic  Historical  Whole 49 

Comparison  the  Basis  of  Integration 50 

Simplification  of  Historical  Knowledge 52 

Division  and  its  Uses 52 

Interpretation  Develops  Historical  Judgment 56 

Emotional  Results  of  Interpretation 68 

Ethical  Value  of  Interpretation 60 

THE    PROCESS    OF    COORDINATION. 

Nature  of  the  Process. 

Basis  of  Coordination 64 

Theoretical  and  Practical  Need 65 

Principle  Stated 67 

Suggestions  as  to  Application.. 68 

Educational  Value  of  Coordination. 

Effects  as  to  Knowledge 74 

Power  of  Judging  Contemporaneous  Events 75 

ORGANIZATION    OF    THE     PERIODS    OF    AMERICAN 
HISTORY. 

PERIOD  OF  THK  GROWTH  OF  LOCAL  INSTITUTIONS. 
THE  RELATION  OF  DISCOVERIES  AND  EXPLORATIONS  TO  THIS 

PERIOD. 

Not  a  Coordinate  Phase  of  Institutional  Life.. 77 

True  Connection  and  Rank 78 

Non-American  History 81 

THE    PERIOD    AS   A   WHOLE. 

What  Constitutes  a  Period 82 

Nature  of  this  Period 82 

Organizing  Idea 84 

Phases  of  the  Period 85 

DIFFUSION    OF    RIGHTS    AND    PRIVILEGES. 

Why  the  New  Differentiation  is  Made 86 

The  Organizing  Principle  in  the  Concrete 87 


CONTENTS.  Vll 

Principle  Governing  New  England's  Conduct  toward  PAGE 

English  Authority 91 

CENTRALISATION    OF    RIGHTS    AND    OPPORTUNITIES. 

Nature  of  this  Organizing  Idea 93 

General  Causes  of  the  Movement 94 

Economical  Aspects 94 

Social  and  Educational  Effects 96 

How  the  Principle  Worked  in  Politics  and  Religion....  98 

Conclusion 100 

Principle    Governing    Southern    Colonists'    Attitude 

toward  England 101 

THE    MIDDLE   COLONIES. 

Internal  Institutional  Growth 103 

Attitude  toward  English  Authority 104 

PERIOD  OF  THE  GROWTH  OF  UNION. 
THE  PERIOD  AS  A  WHOLE. 

Transition  from  Isolation  to  Union 105 

Period  Proper 107 

Organization  as  a  Whole 109 

Phases  of  the  Period Ill 

UNION    AGAINST    ENGLAND. 

Organizes  Events  from  1760  to  1783 112 

Union  on  Basis  of  Rights  of  Englishmen 113 

Union  on  Basis  of  Rights  of  Man 118 

Organization  of  Military  Events 120 

UNION    BETWEEN    THE    STATES    AND    GENERAL    GOVERNMENT. 

Organizing  Idea  of  Second  Half  of  the  Revolution 129 

Union  on  Basis  of  Sovereignty  of  the  State 132 

Union  on  Basis  of  Sovereignty  of  the  Nation 135 

Process  and  Material  of  Organization 137 

Limit  to  the  Process  of  Organizing  a  Period 140 

Result 142 

PERIOD  OF  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  NATIONALITY. 
THE  PERIOD  AS  A  WHOLE. 

General  Nature  of  the  Period 145 

Phases  of  the  Period .....  148 


Vlli  CONTENTS. 

NATIONALITY  AND  DEMOCRACY.  PAGE 
A  PEBIOD  OF  CONFLICT. 

Germs  of  the  Conflict 149 

Unconscious  Progress  of  National  Sentiment 150 

Struggle  Originates  over  Domestic  Questions 152 

Progress  of  the  Conflict  over  Foreign  Relations 158 

Rapid  Development  of   Anti-Democratic  Sentiment 

among  the  Federalists 164 

The  Triumph  of  Democracy 166 

THE  MUTUAL  APPROACH    OF   NATIONALITY    AND   DEMOCRACY. 

General  Features  of  this  Phase 170 

Purchase  of  Louisiana 172 

English  Aggressions 175 

Democracy's  Efforts  at  Redress 176 

Effects  on  Progress  of  Nationality  and  Democracy 179 

War  of  1812  as  a  Product  of  the  National  Spirit 180 

The  War  as  a  Factor  in  Nationalizing  Democracy 185 

Significance  of  the  Era  of  Good  Feeling 190 

THE     FUSION    OF    NATIONALITY    AND    DEMOCRACY    WORKING 
OUT    ITS   RESULTS. 

General  Significance  of  this  Phase 191 

Significance  of  Jackson's  Election 192 

Jackson's  Rule  Interpreted 196 

Campaign  of  1840 201 

Era  of  National  Pride 203 

NATIONALITY  AND  SLAVERY. 
DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  CONFLICT. 

Origin  of  the  Struggle „ 206 

Meaning  of  the  Missouri  Struggle 210 

Slavery  Nullifies  the  Tariff 211 

Meaning  of  the  Movement  for  Texas 216 

THE    GROWTH    OF   8ECTIONALIZATION. 

Process  already  Begun 216 

Motive  and  Results  of  the  Mexican  War 219 

How  the  Discovery  of  Gold  in  California  Aided  in  Sec- 

tionalizing  the  Nation 222 

Compromise  of  1850 224 


CONTENTS.  IX 

PAGE 

Kansas-Nebraska  BUI 226 

Dred  Scott  Decision 229 

Lincoln-Douglas  Debate 230 

Other  Symptoms  of  the  Triumph  of  Sectionalization....  231 

Meaning  of  the  Charleston  Convention 233 

Significance  of  Secession 236 

THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  SLAVERY  AND  THE  TRIUMPH  OF  THE 
NATION. 

Significance  of  Slavery's  Appeal  to  Arms 238 

Revival  of  Nationality  in  the  North 240 

How  the  Slavery  Question  Forced  its  Way  to  the  Front  241 

Significance  of  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipation 245 

Leading  Military  Events  Making  Good  the  Proclama- 
tion of  Emancipation  and  the  Restoration  of  the 

Nation 247 

Other  Events  from  the  Proclamation  to  the  Close  of 

the  War 250 

Digging  Slavery  up  by  the  Roots 252 


THE   ELEMENTARY   PHASES  OF   HISTORY   TEACHING. 
THE  SENSE  PHASE  OF  HISTORY. 
THE  GENERAL  PROBLEM. 

Logical  and  Chronological  Method 255 

Nature  and  Purpose  of  Sense  History 256 

The  Material  for  Sense  History „ 260 

THE  REPRESENTATIVE  PHASE  OF  HISTORY. 
THE  GENERAL  PROBLEM. 

Nature  and  Immediate  Purpose 269 

The  Remote  Purpose 273 

The  Ethical  Purpose 274 

MATERIAL    FOR    REPRESENTATIVE    HISTOBY. 

The  Starting-point ....  276 

Lines  of  Transition  from  the  Present  to  the  Past 278 

A  Background  for  Colonial  Life 280 

The  Colony  and  the  Institution  with  which  to  Begin....  280 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

KOKMS    IN    WHICH    KEPRE8ENTATIVE  MATERIAL  MAY  BE  PRE- 
SENTED. 

The  Story  of  the  Ideal  Historical  Person 283 

The  Story  of  the  Keal  Historical  Person 289 

The  Story  Side  of  the  Event 294 

Illustrations  of  Material  and  Method  of  Work 298 

HISTORY  BOOKS  FOR  YOUNG  PEOPLE....  309 


I  WELL  know  the  danger  that  argues  against  wrenching 
a  subject  to  make  it  support  a  preconceived  theory.  Efforts 
have  been  made  to  avoid  this,  and  thus  escape  error  and 
reach  the  truth.  However,  certain  general  principles  of 
education  have  been  present  from  the  beginning,  and  have 
been  either  confirmed  or  modified  by  the  investigation. 
It  is  now  proposed  to  indicate  the  nature  of  the  problem 
attacked  and  explain  the  method  of  its  solution. 

To  state  the  matter  negatively,  the  aim  has  not  been 
to  discuss  devices  and  external  manipulations  in  teaching 
history ;  the  term  "  method "  is  not  even  intended  to 
suggest  diagrams,  chronological  charts,  or  expedients  of 
like  nature.  But  something  far  more  fundamental  has 
been  the  aim  :  the  determining  factors  in  method  and  not 
the  determined — the  principal  and  not  the  accidental 
—  ones  have  been  sought  for  and  put  to  work  at  the 
problem.  Whether  diagrams,  outlines,  maps,  and  so  on  are 
to  be  used  in  teaching  history  cannot  be  decided  by  the 
whim  of  the  teacher  or  by  some  current  fashion  in  teach- 
ing the  subject,  but  is  to  be  decided,  like  other  questions 
about  devices  and  expedients,  by  an  appeal  to  principles. 


Xll  INTRODUCTION. 

It  has  been  held  in  mind  that  education  is  an  organic 
process  carried  on  by  the  cooperation  of  two  forces  :  mind, 
with  its  powers,  processes,  and  products  ;  and  subject,  with 
its  real  or  possible  system  'of  principles  and  facts.  No  neces- 
sity exists  here  for  the  discussion  of  the  unsettled  problem 
concerning  the  identity  or  non-identity  of  mind  and  sub- 
ject ;  it  is  sufficient  to  know  that  in  the  educative  process, 
conscious  or  unconscious,  there  is  such  a  correspondence 
and  cooperation  between  the  two  factors  that  changes  are 
wrought  in  one  of  the  factors,  —  mind  ;  and  we  often  speak 
of  the  subject  as  being  changed  from  crude  facts  into  some 
sort  of  system.  In  any  event,  the  mind  of  the  learner 
becomes  educated  —  its  possibilities  made  realities  —  by 
possessing  the  thought  of  the  subject. 

^_  In  the  process  of  learning  the  mind  is  conscious  of  the 
thing  it  thinks  and  not  of  its  own  subjective  processes. 
In  the  process  of  teaching  the  learning  mind  is  led  and 
directed  in  its  efforts  to  come  into  contact  with  the  content 
of  things.  The  teaching  act  involves  another  act  of  cor- 
respondence and  cooperation  ;  the  mind  of  the  teacher  and 
the  mind  of  the  learner  cooperate  in  this  act;  the  learner,  as 
before  stated,  being  conscious  only  of  his  subject,  while  the 
teacher  is  conscious  of  the  learner's  thinking  of  the  subject. 
The  teacher  either  is  or  is  not  directing  a  mental  process. 
If  he  is,  then  his  conscious  attention  must  rest  upon  that 
process.  The  subject  presents  the  common  ground  where 
the  teaching  mind  and  the  learning  mind  meet.  The  sub- 
ject itself  is  the  product  of  a  series  of  mental  processes ; 
it  is  a  sort  of  mental  formula  which  expresses  the  experi- 


INTRODUCTION.  Xlll 

ence  of  the  minds  that  have  wrought  it  out.  In  order, 
therefore,  to  direct  the  student  mind  in  its  creation  of  the 
subject,  the  teacher  must  first  have  analyzed  it  into  its 
mental  processes  and  products!} 

The  above  are  fundamental*iacts  of  method  in  teaching.1 
They  are  some  of  the  determining  principles  upon  which 
the  so-called  "  methods  "  of  teaching  rest.  To  these  must 
appeal  be  made  in  deciding  what  devices  shall  be  used, 
questions  asked,  or  directions  given.  How  can  a  teacher 
know,  for  a  certainty,  what  general  devices  are  usable  in 
any  subject,  without  knowing  the  general  forms  of  activity 
the  subject  calls  forth  ?  How  can  a  teacher  prepare  for 
the  work  of  each  day  who  cannot  forecast  the  thinking 
and  feeling  to  be  aroused  ? 

The  above  factors  are  valuable  as  correctives  of  experi- 
ence; they  are  above  experience,  for  they  inhere  in  the 
nature  of  the  teaching  act.  Experience  makes  mistakes, 
and  therefore  is  not  the  only  guide,  but  must  itself  be 
guided.  Following  the  experience  of  others  may  be  mere 
imitation  and  make  one  the  slave  of  forms,  while  teaching 
under  the  guidance  of  principles  gives  inspiration  and 
confers  freedom. 

The  analysis  of  a  subject  into  its  mental  process  not 
only  forms  the  basis  for  any  rational  discussion  of  the 
devices  to  be  used  in  stimulating  the  learning  mind,  but 
such  an  analysis  also  forms  the  true  basis  for  a  discussion 
of  the  subject's  educational  value.  The  platitudes  on 

1  The  teaching  process  is  fully  elaborated  and  illustrated  in  Tomp- 
kins'  Philosophy  of  Teaching. 


xiv  INTRODUCTION. 

educational  values  might  well  be  exchanged  for  a  critical 
analysis  of  the  processes  stimulated  and  the  products 
created  in  the  learning  mind.  Such  an  analysis  is  best 
made  by  observing  the  mind  in  the  actual  and  concrete 
probess  of  working  its  way  through  the  subject,  and  the 
most  competent  person  to  make  this  observation  is  the 
competent  teacher  whose  function  is  to  direct  this  process. 
The  well-equipped  public  school  teacher  ought  to  be  better 
able  to  make  a  helpful  discussion  of  educational  values  in 
special  fields  than  the  superintendent,  for  he  tests  general 
products  and  results,  while  she  ought  to  consciously  direct 
processes  in  particular  subjects.  The  specialist  in  a  Normal 
School  or  University  ought,  also,  to  be  better  authority  on 
the  problem  of  method  in  his  field  than  even  the  Professor 
of  Methods  or  the  Chair  of  Pedagogy.  If  specialists  were 
to  turn  their  attention  to  the  problem  of  method  and  edu- 
cational values  in  this  higher  sense,  we  should  ultimately 
bridge  the  chasm  between  our  theory  and  practice ;  our 
theory  would  vitalize  our  teaching  and  in  return  our  teach- 
ing would  exemplify  the  principles  of  our  theory.  This 
chasm  is  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  our  educational  doc- 
trines are  obtained  from  a  general  study  of  mind  alone, 
while  they  ought  to  be  obtained  from  reducing  this  general 
view  to  a  concrete  form,  or,  perhaps  better,  the  general 
view  of  mind  ought  to  be  approached  through  the  medium 
of  the  subject  which  is  mind  in  its  concrete  form.  In 
making  his  preparation  for  teaching,  the  student  has  before 
him  two  subjects,  apparently  very  different  in  every  way ; 
he  sees  little  kinship  between  psychology  and  grammar. 


INTRODUCTION.  XV 

He  usually  feels  that  psychology  is  a  professional  subject 
—  a  subject  which  somehow  prepares  him  to  teach,  while 
the  special  subject  is  non-professional.  Normal  Schools 
generally  set  aside  a  portion  of  their  work  and  dignify  it 
by  the  term  "professional,"  while  other  work  is  cheapened 
by  being  called  academic.  In  a  Normal  School  the  study 
of  language,  history,  or  mathematics  ought  to  be,  and  can 
be,  made  as  strictly  professional  as  the  study  of  psychol- 
ogy. In  truth  the  latter,  as  generally  taught,  is  just  as 
non-professional  as  Latin  or  algebra;  the  only  way  to 
render  any  subject  professional  is  to  study  its  bearing  on 
the  process  of  learning  and  teaching.  The  essential  nature 
of  geography  is  just  as  important  a  factor  in  determining 
the  method  of  learning  and  teaching  geography  as  is 
psychology. 

The  result  of  this  one-sided  view  —  or  at  best  this  dual 
view  of  professional  preparation  —  is  that  we  have  a  litera- 
ture that  speaks  of  applied  psychology,  as  if  it  were  a  sub- 
ject to  be  learned  and  then  in  some  way  forced  upon  the 
subject,  —  the  subject  made  to  fit  a  scheme  that  has  been 
prepared  beforehand  without  particularly  consulting  the 
subject  to  be  professionalized.  The  result  is  that  teachers 
"professionally  trained"  still  continue  unable  to  bridge 
the  chasm  between  theory  and  practice. 

This  imperfect  conception  of  the  nature  and  relations  of 
the  factors  which  must  cooperate  to  determine  rational 
methods  of  instruction  is  not  confined  to  the  graduates 
of  Normal  Schools.  In  fact,  this  class  of  teachers 
promise  to  do  much  toward  remedying  this  evil.  It 


INTRODUCTION. 

is  the  prevailing  custom  among  teachers  in  secondary  and 
primary  schools  to  look  upon  the  subject  they  teach  as 
contributing  very  little  to  the  method  of  its  teaching.  The 
result  is  to  lower  the  subject  —  and,  worst  of  all,  the  work 
of  teaching  —  in  the  estimation  of  the  teacher.  The  sub- 
ject stands  as  so  much  simple  and  easy  matter  upon  which 
no  special  preparation  for  the  recitation  is  needed.  The 
work  ceases  to  be  interesting  and  sinks  into  mere  drudgery. 
College  graduates,  as  a  rule,  take  the  same  low  view  of  work 
in  these  schools.  They  feel  that  the  branches  taught  even 
in  the  best  secondary  schools  present  no  problem  worthy  of 
their  metal !  There  is  a  problem  here  worthy  of  their  best 
endeavors  and  one  that  challenges,  in  point  of  difficulty, 
their  strongest  and  keenest  powers.  They  generally  do  not 
know  where  to  look  for  it;  it  is  a  pedagogical,  and  not  an 
academical,  problem.  This  work  is  written  with  the  con- 
fident hope  that  such  a  problem  will  be  perceived  in  the 
domain  of  history  teaching  in  the  primary  and  secondary 
schools. 

The  ideas  briefly  stated  in  the  preceding  pages  have 
given  general  direction  to  this  work.  The  plan  has  been 
to  look  into  history  and  discover  there  the  processes 
and  products  that  the  mind  must  work  out  in  organizing 
its  facts  into  a  system.  Accordingly,  the  first  step  analyzes 
a  number  of  historical  facts  to  discover  some  of  the  essen- 
tial concepts  in  history,  and  at  the  same  time  allows  the 
facts  discovered  to  indicate  something  about  the  general 
way  in  which  the  mind  must  move  in  the  subject.  This  is 
followed  by  a  more  detailed  inquiry  into  the  general  proc- 


INTRODUCTION.  XVli 

esses  involved  in  organizing  the  material  of  history  into 
the  form  of  a  system.  In  other  words,  the  general  proc- 
esses of  interpretation  and  coordination  and  subordination 
are  inquired  into  and  illustrated.  Under  the  head  of  the 
educational  value  of  interpretation  and  coordination  and 
subordination  the  specific  intellectual  processes  and  prod- 
ucts are  indicated  and  illustrated,  and  also  the  emotional 
and  ethical  stimulus  imparted  is  pointed  out.  Next  follows 
an  attempt  to  make  more  definite  the  general  principles  of 
historical  organization,  and  to  show  more  fully  their  educa- 
tional value  by  looking  into  the  various  periods  and  sub- 
periods  of  American  history.  The  purpose  here  is  not 
to  organize  the  periods  in  detail,  but  rather  to  demonstrate 
the  possibility  of  doing  so.  With  the  ideal  of  historical 
organization  in  mind,  as  these  steps  aim  to  create  it,  the 
next  part  of  the  discussion  deals  with  those  preliminary 
steps  that  the  immature  mind  of  the  primary  and  grammar 
grades  must  take  in  order  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  real- 
ization of  the  ideal  set  forth  above.  History  in  its  organ- 
ized or  scientific  form  is  an  ideal  toward  which  all  work 
in  the  subject  ought  to  be  directed.  The  teacher  in  the 
primary  and  secondary  schools  ought  to  be  under  the 
influence  of  this  view  of  history,  and  should  be  consciously 
influenced  by  the  fact  thafc  his  work  is  one  step  toward 
this  goal. 


METHOD   IN   HISTORY. 


THE  GENERAL  NATURE  OF  HISTORY 

AND   THE    PROCESSES   INVOLVED   IN   THE   ORGANI- 
ZATION   OF    HISTORICAL    MATERIAL. 


ESSENTIAL   ELEMENTS  OF   HISTORY. 

The  General  Character  of  the  Problem —  Two  factors 
unite  to  produce  historical  knowledge,  —  the  transforming 
agent,  mind,  and  the  material  to  be  transformed,  the  facts 
of  history.  The  explanation  of  how  historical  facts  become 
mind,  and  how  mind  becomes  history,  is  the  explanation  of 
the  process  of  learning  history.  The  relation  between 
these  factors  is  an  organic  one.  Hence,  they  can  be  most 
profitably  discussed  together.  In  fact  it  is  mere  specula- 
tion about  historical  science  to  discuss  them  out  of  this 
living  relation,  and  leaves  the  ordinary  teacher  possessed 
of  a  body  of  theory  and  a  body  of  concrete  facts  which 
have  no  power  over  each  other.  It  is  confidently  believed 
that  no  better  way  can  be  found  to  enable  the  teacher  to 
bridge  the  chasm  between  theory  and  practice  than  to 
exhibit  the  mind  in  the  concrete  process  of  working  its  way 
through  history. 


2  GENERAL    NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

There  must  necessarily  be  two  phases  to  our  investiga- 
tion :  the  first  will  set  forth  the  essential  attributes  of  the 
material  out  of  which  history  is  constructed  and  the  form 
which  this  science  will  take,  thus  exhibiting  it  as  a  system 
of  ideas,  —  history  reduced  to  a  form  of  thought ;  the 
second  will  investigate  the  mental  forms  and  processes 
that  history  calls  forth,  —  mind  transformed  into  history, 
or  at  least  transformed  by  history. 

The  first  of  these  phases  is  the  one  in  which  we  end  with 
a  logical  view  of  history,  —  the  form  the  subject  must 
finally  take  in  the  mature  mind.  This  final  view  is  equally 
valuable  to  the  teacher  in  every  grade  from  the  primary 
school  to  the  university.  This  thought  of  the  subject  the 
university  professor  must  build  into  the  mind  of  the  stu- 
dent, and  the  primary  teacher  must  hold  it  in  view  as  the 
goal  for  which  she  is  preparing  her  pupils  ;  it  is  the  ideal, 
on  the  side  of  the  subject,  that  must  inspire  and  beckon  both. 
The  discussion  of  the  first  phase  naturally  falls  into  two 
parts :  one  investigating  the  fundamental  attributes  of  the 
subject-matter  of  history,  and  the  other  examining  the  func- 
tion of  these  attributes  in  the  process  of  giving  the  subject 
its  scientific  form.  Although  each  of  these  sub-phases  will 
have  its  turn  in  the  discussion,  it  is  not  intended  to  keep 
them  rigidly  separate,  but,  for  pedagogical  reasons  already 
given,  they  will  be  interwoven.  Whenever  conclusions  are 
reached  as  to  the  nature  of  historical  material,  their  peda- 
gogical implications  will  generally  be  noted. 

An  Erroneous  View  of  History.  —  One  of  the  most  com- 
mon errors  about  the  nature  of  history  is  to  regard  it  as 


ESSENTIAL    ELEMENTS    OF    HISTORY.  3 

a  "  record."  It  is  not  a  record,  at  least  not  more  so  than 
any  other  subject,  for  it  does  not  deal  with  the  record  as 
such.  History  is  hardly  the  thing  recorded,  for  it  does 
not  deal  with, events  for  their  own  sake,  but  only  so  far  as  ' 
they  reveal  the  life  of  which  they  are  the  result.  The 
"  record "  idea  of  history  is  a  conception  both  superficial 
and  harmful,  —  superficial  because  it  gives  the  teacher  and 
student  no  clue  to  the  real  nature  of  the  historical  problem, 
and  harmful  because  it  both  leads  to  the  belief  that  the 
book  is  the  subject,  and  suggests  that  the  proper  thing  to 
do  is  to  transfer  the  record  from  the  book  to  the  pupil's 
mind  by  means  of  verbal  memory.1  After  making  this 
brief  statement  of  what  history  is  not,  let  us  go  in  quest 
of  a  conception  that  is  more  fundamental,  and  therefore 
more  helpful  ;  and  one,  too,  that  is  drawn  from  a  careful 
analysis  of  the  material  of  history  itself. 

The  Ideas  of  Form  and  Content  in  History  Developed.  - 
The  Pilgrims  landed  in  December,  1620;  but,  as  far  as  we  can 
see,  our  institutions  would  not  be  different  if  the  Pilgrims 
had  landed  six  months  earlier  or  six  months  later.  The 
landing  was  made  on  Plymouth  Eock  ;  but  it  is  difficult  to 
show  that  this  interesting  incident  has  added  to  the  sta- 
bility of  our  institutions.  They  came  over  in  the  Mayflower. 
What  if  it  had  been  the  Speedwell,  a  vessel  of  no  mean 
name  ?  Would  this  have  given  America  a  different  destiny  ? 
This  boatload  of  precious  freight  numbered  one  hundred 

1  This  view  of  the  subject  leads  to  assigning  lessons  in  terms  erf 
paragraphs  and  pages ;  and,  what  is  still  worse,  the  recitation  is  con- 
ducted in  the  same  way. 


4  GENERAL   NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

two  souls.  What  if  there  had  been  one  hundred  or 
one  hundred  twenty  ?  Would  this  difference  in  num- 
bers have  changed  our  political,  religious,  and  social 
life  ?  They  signed  the  "  Compact "  in  the  cabin  of  the 
Mayflower;  but  it  could  have  been  signed  on  land  without 
having  had  its  significance  altered.  There  is  one  thing  in 
the  life  of  this  hardy  band,  and  in  the  life  of  the  numerous 
bands  that  came  to  New  England  and  elsewhere,  that  could 
not  have  been  changed  without  changing  our  history.  If 
these  early  settlers  had  been  animated  by  a  different  set  of 
political,  religious,  and  social  ideas,  the  whole  character  and 
trend  of  our  institutions  would  have  been  altered. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  was  made  in  Indepen- 
dence Hall,  Philadelphia,  on  July  4,  1776,  in  the  hand- 
writing of  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  with  the  big  signature  of 
John  Hancock  attached.  This  event  is  a  fact  of  great  sig- 
nificance in  the  life  of  our  people,  but  in  what  does  its 
significance  really  consist  ?  Is  it  found  in  any  or  all  of 
the  incidents  named  ?  Many  of  these,  however  interesting, 
seem  matters  of  accident.  Could  not  the  Declaration  have 
been  made  in  Carpenters'  Hall,  on  some  other  day,  in  the 
handwriting  of  some  clerk,  and  have  been  signed  by  some 
other  president  of  the  Continental  Congress  ?  Would 
such  a  variation  in  these  facts  have  materially  affected  the 
course  of  the  Revolution  ?  Could  not  all  of  these  happenings 
have  been  different,  and  yet  the  wnole  of  our  history  have 
been,  in  the  main,  what  it  has  been  ?  But  there  is  a  some- 
thing here  without  which  the  superstructure  of  our  insti- 
tutional life  would  be  entirely  different.  This  vital  thing 


ESSENTIAL   ELEMENTS    OF    HISTORY.  5 

is  the  thought  expressed  in  the  Declaration,  — the  political 
doctrines  of  the  American  people,  then  and  now,  which 
it  sets  forth.  This  is  the  historical  content  of  the  event 
and  the  document  we  call  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ; 
this  is  its  life ;  for  without  these  ideas  back  of  it,  the  event 
would  not  have  occurred. 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg  was  seen,  heard,  and  felt  by  its 
participants.  It  had  a  time  and  a  place;  there  were  so 
many  soldiers  in  line  on  each  side,  and  these  were  com- 
manded by  certain  officers  ;  so  many  men  were  killed  and 
wounded.  In  short,  a  hundred  interesting  incidents  con- 
nect themselves  with  this  gigantic  contest.  But  did  these 
things  constitute  the  real  Gettysburg  ?  Could  not  most,  if 
not  all,  of  these  features  have  varied  and  yet  the  real  his- 
torical fact  have  occurred?  The  ideas  and  principles  that 
surged  in  the  brains  and  hearts  of  the  two  armies  and  of 
the  two  sections,  and  without  which  the  physical  struggle 
would  not  have  been,  were  the  true  Gettysburg.  No  ;  the 
student  who  does  not  see  two  sets  of  political,  social, 
and  industrial  ideas  belch  from  the  opposing  cannon  and 
gleam  from  sword  and  saber  or  flash  from  deadly  bayonet 
misses  the  permanent  and  enduring  Gettysburg  ! 

If  the  process  of  analysis  were  applied  to  other  events 
in  our  history,  or  to  events  connected  with  the  life  of  any 
people,  it  would  confirm  what  is  already  apparent,  namely, 
that  there  are  two  sets  of  facts  in  history.  From  this 
brief  analysis,  however,  the  following  conclusions  may 
be  drawn  as  to  the  nature  of  history  and  as  to  the  method 
of  its  study : 


6  GENERAL   NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

1.  That  one  set   of   historical  facts    is  made  up  of  a 
people's  acts  and  the  other  of  their  thoughts  and  feelings, 
ideas  and  emotions,  and  that  these  two  sets  are  parallel 
in  time  and  together  in  place.     This  suggests  a  more  inti- 
mate connection. 

2.  That  deeds  or  events  are  the  signs  or  expressions  of 
.  a  people's  thought  and  feelings.     Man  thinks  and  feels, 

and  acts  because  he  thinks  and  feels.  The  act,  therefore, 
is  adapted  to  give  expression  to  his  state  of  mind.  Hence, 
the  student  may  read  a  nation's  thought  in  its  events.1 

3^  It  may  be  said  that  events  constitute  the  outer  form 

/of  the  subject-matter  of  history,  while  thoughts,  emotions, 

/  and  so  on,  constitute  the  essence  or  content  of  history.     It 

follows,  then,  that  the  problem  of  history  lies  in  the  mas- 

I      tery  of  the  content,  while  the  events  perform  the  function 

/      of  means. 

4.  Events  occur,  but  ideas  continue.  Events  are  tran- 
sient while  ideas  are  enduring.  Only  ideas  recur.  The 
same  idea  or  sentiment  may  express  itself  in  numberless 
events  of  very  different  characteristics.  The  event,  there- 
fore, is  particular,  while  the  idea  or  sentiment  may  be 
viewed  as  general.  It  follows  that  connections  and  con- 

1  Every  subject  of  study  presents  these  two  phases,  —  form  and 
content.  In  mathematics  we  have  signs,  rules,  and  formulae;  and 
number,  its  processes  and  relations.  In  language  are  found  words, 
sentences,  and  paragraphs ;  and  also  thoughts ;  and  so  on  with  other 
subjects.  "  The  amount  of  bad  teaching  growing  out  of  a  failure  to 
clearly  differentiate  form  and  content  is  simply  appalling."  The 
most  common  mistake  is  to  exalt  form  into  an  end,  and  degrade  con- 
tent into  a  means,  or  permit  it  to  disappear  altogether. 


ESSENTIAL    ELEMENTS    OF    HISTORY.  7 

tinuity  in  history  must  be  sought  in  ideas  rather  than 
among  events.  The  full  pedagogical  significance  of  this 
distinction  will  be  seen  further  on. 

5.  Primarily,  events  are  effects,  while  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings are  the  causes.  But  a  people  in  the  process  of  acting 
under  the  impulse  of  an  idea  may  modify  it  very  greatly, 
may  intensify  or  diminish  its  strength,  or  may  catch  new 
glimpses  of  its  advantage  or  its  disadvantage.  In  a  sec- 
ondary sense,  then,  events  are  causes  and  ideas  are  effects. 
The  suggestion  here  is  that  the  teacher  must  see  to  it  that 
students  catch  the  change  in  public  sentiment  that  comes 
through  action,  as  well  as  search  for  the  true  cause  of 
events  in  a  preceding  state  of  public  sentiment. 

Growth  in  History  is  under  the  Laws  of  Continuity 
and  Differentiation.  —  It  must  be  apparent  from  the  above 
conclusions  that  the  problem  of  how  to  study  and  how  to 
teach  history  can  be  illuminated  by  a  closer  study  of  what 
is  seen  to  be  the  real  essence  of  history,  rather  than  by  a 
study  of  its  outer  form.  This  essence  or  content  is  the 
life  of  a  people,  its  life  of  thought  and  feeling.  Thoughts 
and  feelings  are  forces  that  tend  to  realize  themselves  by 
growth.  They  grow  in  extent  by  passing  from  mind  to 
mind.  This  process  may  go  on  until  they  absorb  the 
attention  of  the  whole  people.  But  such  growth  is 
marked  by  changes  in  the  ideas  themselves.  The  laws 
under  which  the  content  of  history  develops  will  appear 
from  the  illustrations  below. 

A  long  time  ago,  the  English  kings  called  around  them 
their  richest  nobles  to  see  how  much  they  would  give  to 


8  GENERAL    NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

carry  on  government  or  to  prosecute  war.  This  was  re« 
peated  until  it  became  a  right  on  the  part  of  the  lords  to 
grant  or  refuse  aid.  After  a  time,  other  classes  sent  repre- 
sentatives to  advise  the  king.  The  two  sets  'of  advisers 
formed  the  two  houses  of  parliament,  and  the  people 
through  these  representatives  managed  the  government  of 
England.  The  English  colonies  carried  the  idea  to  Amer- 
ica. In  early  colonial  times  there  was  but  one  set  of 
representatives  for  purposes  of  legislation,  —  men  elected 
to  represent  the  town  or  county  in  the  colonial  legislatures. 
But  before  the  Eevolution,  nearly  all  of  the  colonies  had 
two  sets  of  representatives.  The  Eevolution  called  for  a 
third  set  of  delegates  to  represent  the  colony  in  the  Con- 
tinental Congress.  The  idea  of  delegated  authority  has 
made  great  strides  since  that  time.  Now  the  ward  has  its 
representatives  in  the  common  council,  the  township  has 
its  delegates  to  the  commissioners'  court,  while  the  county 
elects  men  to  go  to  the  state  legislature,  and  the. states 
in  turn  elect  two  sets  of  representatives  to  the  national 
Congress.  The  idea  goes  further  :  it  has  penetrated  reli- 
gious, educational,  and  industrial  organizations,  and  seems 
to  furnish  a  convenient  method  of  conducting  any  affair 
in  a  large  way.  The  complexity  of  the  system  is  in  strik- 
ing contrast  with  the  simple  method  of  the  colonial  days 
or  of  the  still  simpler  way  of  early  England. 

Continuity  and  differentiation  in  the  content  of  history 
are  also  well  illustrated  by  the  development  of  the  idea  of 
toleration  in  religion.  Once  Virginia  persecuted  Baptists 
and  Puritans,  while  Massachusetts  banished  Roger  Williams 


ESSENTIAL   ELEMENTS    OF    HISTORY.  9 

and  hanged  Quakers  ;  but  even  in  colonial  times,  the  laws 
against  Quakers  were  either  repealed  or  not  -enforced,  and 
the  penalties  against  heresy  were  greatly  reduced.  The 
revolutionary  struggle  wore  off  the  sharp  edges  of  religious 
prejudice,  so  that  most  of  the  states  recognized  religious 
freedom  in  their  new  constitutions.  The  sentiment  of 
toleration  won  its  way  so  completely  that  the  Constitution 
declared  the  national  legal  separation  of  church  and  state ; 
but  religious  freedom  has  not  ceased  growing  after  winning 
a  formal  and  legal  recognition  of  its  right ;  it  is  now  taking 
on  the  form  of  a  moral  and  personal  right.  The  large  and 
increasing  number  of  religious  sects  at  present,  compared 
with  the  number  in  colonial  days,  shows  how  rapidly  differ- 
entiation in  religious  belief  has  gone  on. 

Other  illustrations  of  these  laws  may  be  found  by  tra- 
cing the  development  of  our  public-school  system  from  its 
colonial  germs  to  its  present  high  degree  of  complexity, 
and  also  by  marking  the  evolution  of  the  crude  industrial 
ways  of  our  early  settlers  down  to  the  highly  developed 
organism  of  our  own  times.1 

From  the  above  analyses  and  illustrations  the  following 
conclusions  may  be  drawn  : 

1.  That  history  deals  with  the  life  of  a  people  in  the 
process  of  growth.  The  content  of  history  is  not  a  dead 
or  fixed  thing,  but  it  lives  and  moves ;  it  is  dynamical  and 
not  statical. 

1  The  importance  of  clearly  understanding  these  laws  justifies  large 
illustration.  Each  new  illustration  can  be  made  more  helpful  by  using 
a  different  sort  of  idea  from  those  found  in  preceding  illustrations. 


10  GENERAL   NATURE   OF   HISTORY. 

2.  A  people's  life  of  thought  and  feeling  obeys  the  law 
of  continuity  and  of  differentiation.     The  law  of  continuity 
means  that  there  are  no  breaks  or  leaps  in  the  life  of  a 
people.     Development   may  hasten   or  may  slacken,  and 
may  seem  to  cease  for  a  time,  but  it  is  always  continuous ; 
it  always  proceeds  out  of  antecedent  conditions,  and  if  it 
be  arrested  for  a  time,  it  begins  again  at  the  point  where  it 
ended.     The  operation  of  continuity  makes  history  a  unit, 
and  is  the  basis  of  the  organization  of  its  facts  into  a  system. 

3.  The  law  of  differentiation  means  that  the  thoughts 
and  feelings  of  a  people  take  on  new  form  in  the  process 
of  growth.     The  new  idea  or  movement,  under  continuity, 
bears  resemblance  to  its  former  self,  while  under  differen- 
tiation it  is  becoming  unlike   its  former  self.     Continuity 
retains  something  of  the  old,  while  differentiation  brings 
to  it  something  new.     In  adding  to  the  content  of  history, 
differentiation  produces  complexity  and  at  the  same  time 
gives,  in  the  new  difference,  the  basis  for  noting  progress.1 

4.  That  the  understanding  of  history  requires  the  stu- 
dent to  take  ideas  as  germs   and  trace  them  through  all 
phases  of  their  growth,  thus  putting  continuous  and  paral- 
lel threads  of  thought  through  the  entire  subject.    This  is  a 
kind  of  organization,  because  it  puts  a  similar,  though  not 
identical,  content  into  remote  and  very  diversified  events. 

Five  Lines  of  Growth  and  Five  Great  Institutions  in 
History. — Not  only  do  certain  lines  of  thought  develop 
in  obedience  to  the  laws  of  continuity  and  differentiation, 

1  The  constant  recurrence,  through  their  application,  of  the  points 
under  "  2  "  and  "  3  "  makes  their  further  illustration  unnecessary. 


ESSENTIAL   ELEMENTS    OF    HISTORY.  11 

but  the  life  of  the  race,  as  a  whole,  grows  in  the  same 
way.  An  examination  of  the  life  of  any  people  will  reveal 
certain  permanent  features  common  to  the  history  of  all 
civilized  nations.  There  will  be  found  five  well-marked 
phases,  —  a  political,  a  religious,  an  educational,  an  indus- 
trial, and  a  social  phase.  These  are  further  differentiated 
by  the  fact  that  each  has  a  great  organization,  called  an 
institution,  around  which  it  clusters,  and  whose  •  purpose, 
plan  of  work,  and  machinery  are  peculiar  to  itself.  For 
political  ideas  the  center  is  the  institution  called  govern- 
ment ;  for  religious  ideas,  the  church';  for  educational  and 
culture  influences,  the  school ;  for  industrial  life,  occupa- 
tion ;  and  for  social  customs,  the  family.  But  there  was  a 
time  when  these  elements  of  life  were  not  so  fully  differ- 
entiated. The  primitive  history  of  all  peoples  shows  that, 
in  the  beginning,  institutional  life  presented  itself  to 
man's  consciousness  as  a  simple  and  undivided  whole. 
Abraham  did  not  separate  in  thought  his  political  from 
his  religious  duties  ;  nor  did  he  think  of  his  business  and 
social  interests  as  different  and  disconnected.  In  his  day 
there  were  only  the  germs  of  a  government,  a  church, 
and  a  school ;  and  these  were  so  interwoven  with  other 
interests  that  they  constituted  one  great  life.  But  between 
then  and  now  the  principle  of  differentiation  has  done  its 
work  so  perfectly  that  we  often  think  of  the  government 
without  the  church  coming  into  mind,  and  so  with  the 
other  institutions.  These  institutions  have  become  great 
crystallized  centers  of  life  around  which  the  thoughts  and 
feelings  of  a  people  grow. 


12  GENERAL   NATURE   OF    HISTORY. 

\  . 
Growth  becomes  permanent  by  being  embodied,  through 

law  or  custom,  in  its  appropriate  institution.  Growth  in 
political  thought  and  feeling  finds  entrance  into  govern- 
ment ;  public  sentiment,  under  the  pressure  of  war,  abol- 
ished slavery  in  this  country,  and  the  result  was  written 
in  our  constitution  ;  the  rise  of  political  parties  has  added 
many  new  customs  to  our  method  of  president-making.  A 
movement  in  religious  sentiment  may  ultimately  embody 
itself  in  church,  creed,  or  custom.  The  admission  of  women 
to  colleges  on  equal  terms  with  men  shows  that  the  school 
adjusts  itself  to  the  growth  of  educational  ideas  ;  the  idea 
of  a  practical  education,  so  called,  has  spread  till  all  classes 
of  schools  —  the  public  school,  the  college,  and  the  uni- 
versity—  have  felt  its  touch  and  have  remodeled  courses 
of  study  so  as  to  harmonize  with  the  new  idea.  Similarly 
this  is  true  of  social  and  industrial  life.  This  crystalliza- 
tion of  institutional  thought  and  feeling  makes  progress 
possible,  —  a  given  generation  profiting  by  the  labor  of  the 
one  that  is  past,  and  building  for  the  one  that  is  to  come. 

But  this  is  not  all  gain ;  for  an  idea,  after  embodiment  in 
institutions  through  formal  enactment  or  by  well-established 
custom,  tends  to  cease  growing  ;  it  becomes  very  largely  a 
conservative  force,  and  hinders  to  some  extent  further 
progress.  The  established  order  in  society  sets  itself  up 
in  the  minds  of  people  as  an  ideal  to  be  maintained,  and 
public  sentiment  moves  away  only  after  another  and  differ- 
ent ideal  wins  the  people  to  its  support. 

Unless  public  opinion  is  unanimous,  it  is  impossible  to 
embody  it  completely  in  a  rule  of  action.  In  most  cases, 


ESSENTIAL   ELEMENTS    OF    HISTORY.  13 

even  after  successful  revolution,  there  is  a  form  of  the 
dominant  sentiment  too  radical  to  gain  the  support  of  a 
majority.  The  unembodied  sentiment  may  constitute  the 
germs  of  a  new  movement,  and  under  appropriate  condi- 
tions may  produce  a  conscious  difference  between  what  is 
and  what  ought  to  be.  When  this  difference  becomes 
marked,  a  conflict  usually  follows ;  it  may  be  only  a 
spirited  controversy  ;  it  may  be  a  new  revolution.  In  the 
latter  case,  public  sentiment  is  marked  by  a  high  degree 
of  consciousness,  by  great  intensity  of  passion  and  the 
destruction  of  old  forms  of  thought  and  action,  and  by  the 
rapid  development  of  new  phases. 

It  often  happens  in  movements  attended  by  the  display 
of  passion  that  many  temporary  and  extraneous  phases  of 
sentiment  appear,  catch  the  ear  of  a  faction,  then  disappear 
and  cease  to  affect  either  of  the  great  currents  of  thought 
and  feeling. 

From  this  examination  of  the  law  of  differentiation  as 
applied  to  the  growth  of  institutional  life  as  a  whole,  and 
to  the  embodiment  of  growth  in  permanent  forms,  certain 
inferences  may  be  drawn  : 

1.  That  the  phenomena  of  history  may  be  grouped  in 
five  different  classes  ;  that  history  is  not  confined  to  the 
study  of  politics,  but  includes  the  entire  life  of  a  people.1 

1  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  progress  made  on  this  point  by  our 
school  histories.  The  earlier  texts  gave  large  space  to  military  ex- 
ploits of  all  kinds,  particularly  those  with  the  Indians.  This  class  of 
works  was  followed  by  another  that  gave  less  attention  to  war  and 
more  to  the  study  of  political  events,  but  ignoring,  in  the  main,  the 
other  four  phases  of  life.  Many  of  these  texts  are  now  in  use  in 


14  GENERAL   NATURE   OF   HISTORY. 

2.  That  there  are  five  lines  of  growth  that  move  on 
down  through  the  life  of  a  people  and  give  linear  continuity 
to  the  subject,  and,  therefore,  a  clue  to  the  method  of  its 
organization. 

3.  That  each  of  these  phases  of  a   people's   thought 
clusters  around  and  becomes  embodied  in  a  great  and  per- 
manent institution. 

4.  That  the  more  advanced  phases  of  sentiment  do  not, 
for  the  time,  become  embodied  in  either  law  or  custom,  and 
thus  they  form  germs  that  may  produce  a  conflict  between 
what  is  and  what  ought  to  be.     Hence  the  student  must 
take  account  of  ideas  and  sentiments  that  fail  to  find  accept- 
ance with  the  majority. 

The  Five  Phases  not  always  of  Coordinate  Historical 
Value.  —  While  these  great  ganglia  of  humanity's  life  are 
all  structurally  essential  to  its  well-being,  yet  they  are  not, 
at  all  times  and  in  all  movements  of  that  life,  of  equal  his- 
torical value.  Movements,  large  or  small,  have  been  char- 
acterized usually  by  the  predominance  of  one  of  these 
phases.  Now  it  is  the  religious,  again  the  political ;  and  at 
another  time  the  social  and  economic  are  so  blended  in  the 
movement  that  neither  seems  to  dominate ;  often,  as  will 
be  demonstrated  below,  the  results  may  be  profoundly  felt 
in  every  phase  of  institutional  life,  and  yet  very  seldom 
are  found  equally  distributed  among  them. 

Political  institutions  absorb  public  attention  in  our  age 
more  than  any  others.  This  is  partly  an  epochal  tendency, 

schools.     But  another  kind  of  history  text  is  beginning  to  find  favor, 
one  that  takes  account  of  the  whole  life  of  the  people. 


ESSENTIAL   ELEMENTS   OF   HISTORY.  15 

for  it  was  hardly  true  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries.  But  it  seems  mainly  true  now  because  govern- 
mental functions  have  been  so  extended  as  to  have  over- 
sight of  all  other  interests.  At  least,  government  undertakes 
to  adjust  the  interests  of  the  various  institutions  so  as  to 
promote  the  best  life  of  the  whole  and  of  its  parts.  While 
each  institution  reacts  upon  government,  yet  it  effects  this 
indirectly,  and  more  or  less  unconsciously.  The  state, 
therefore,  gives  direction  not  only  to  political  history, 
but  to  some  extent  to  all  history.  Since  politics  is  not 
political  only,  it  seems  proper  that  the  political  phase  of 
life  should  constitute  a  greater  portion  of  history  than  any 
other.1 

The  Organic  Unity  of  Institutional  Life.  —  Although 
the  process  of  differentiation  has  given  us  five  well-marked 
sets  of  institutional  ideas,  yet  the  principle  of  continuity 
teaches  us  to  look  for  their  organic  unity.  Some  illustra- 
tions will  set  forth  this  life-connection  between  the  phases. 

The  French  and  Indian  war  was  a  great  military  event, 
and,  as  such,  belonged  immediately  to  the  domain  of  gov- 
ernment. It  produced,  as  we  should  expect,  great  political 
results,  but  besides  these  there  flowed  from  it  religious 
and  industrial  consequences  of  almost  infinite  importance. 
This  struggle  decided  that  North  America  should  become 
a  new  home  for  English  Protestantism,  and  that  French 
Catholicism  must  return  to  European  soil.  This  result  lifted 
a  great  load  from  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  English 

1  Whether  this  ought  to  be  so  may  perhaps  be  a  question,  but  that 
it  is  so  is  not  a  question,  whatever  the  explanation. 


16  GENERAL   NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

colonists.  Yet,  even  if  victory  had  belonged  to  France, 
the  religious  effect  would  have  been  just  as  great,  and  the 
principle  of  historical  growth  would  have  been  as  fully 
illustrated.  Again,  this  war  brought  into  personal  contact 
the  Puritan,  the  Baptist,  the  Dutchman,  and  the  Cavalier ; 
they  messed  together,  marched  together,  and  fought  to- 
gether; they  shared  each  other's  joys  and  sorrows,  victories 
and  defeats.  Seven  years  of  this  and  other  forms  of  mu- 
tual intercourse  did  much  to  tone  down  religious  exclusive- 
ness  and  prejudice.  A  series  of  military  events  thus  pro- 
duced profound  religious  effects.  This  war  also  decided 
that  free  instead  of  parochial  schools  should  bless  America ; 
and  yet  more,  for  it  destroyed  the  possibility  of  French 
family  and  social  life.  This  long  struggle  also  burdened 
both  England  and  the  colonies  with  heavy  debts.  The 
former  tried  to  lighten  her  load  by  putting  new  burdens  on 
the  trade  of  the  latter.  The  colonies  replied  by  refusing 
to  have  commercial  intercourse  with  England,  and  began 
to  develop  their  own  resources,  which  led  the  way  to  com- 
mercial as  well  as  to  political  independence.  So  much  for 
the  political,  religious,  educational,  industrial,  and  social 
effects  of  a  series  of  military  events. 

The  American  Revolution  was  a  mighty  political  upheaval 
whose  forces  are  not  yet  spent.  The  American  people 
came  out  of  this  struggle  with  greatly  modified  social,  moral, 
and  religious  ideas  and  feelings. 

Let  us  push  our  examination  further  by  looking  at  a 
form  of  growth  that  did  not  have  its  origin  in  politics. 
The  planters  at  Jamestown  took  that  first  cargo  of  dusky 


ESSENTIAL   ELEMENTS    OF    HISTORY.  17 

freight  purely  as  a  business  venture  ;  they  simply  asked 
how  to  raise  tobacco  in  the  easiest  and  cheapest  way ;  they 
had  no  thought  of  its  bearing  on  the  other  forms  of  insti- 
tutional life.  The  venture  proved  successful  and  the 
system  of  slave  labor  filled  the  South.  But  slavery  gave 
the  master  and  his  children  wealth  and  leisure,  while  to 
the  non-slaveholding  white,  it  brought  poverty  and  toil  ; 
he  could  not  win  a  competence  for  himself  and  family  in 
competition  with  slave  labor ;  whatever  his  ambition,  the 
poor  white  could  hardly  break  over  the  industrial  barrier 
that  slavery  built  between  him  and  success.  The  children 
of  the  planter  could  be  educated,  but  this  institution  which 
began  as  a  business  venture  denied  to  the  child  of  the  non- 
slaveholder  an  opportunity  for  an  education ;  poverty  could 
not  educate  its  children,  and  slavery  refused  to  build  free 
schools.  These  differences  drew  a  sharp  line  through 
Southern  social  life.  There  was  little  fellowship  between 
the  two  classes  of  families,  for  this  industrial  venture  had 
given  into  the  hands  of  one  class  all  the  social  amenities 
that  wealth,  leisure,  and  intelligence  could  bring,  while  to 
the  other  class  all  of  these  were  denied.  All  these  influ- 
ences made  the  slaveholder  the  politician  of  the  South  ;  no 
other  class  was  so  well  fitted  for  statesmanship.  He  was 
the  most  desirable  man  to  send  to  the  colonial  legisla- 
tures, and  afterwards  to  the  National  Congress.  This 
industrial  venture  seemed  to  favor  office-holding,  for  the 
South,  at  all  times,  furnished  a  larger  proportion  of  na- 
tional officials,  according  to  her  population,  than  any  other 
section  of  the  country.  In  the  colonial  legislatures,  the 


18  GENERAL    NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

slaveholder  passed  laws  that  favored  the  development  of 
this  industrial  system.  In  the  nation  at  large,  slavery 
organized  and  destroyed  political  parties,  dictated  the 
nomination  of  candidates  for  the  presidency,  defeated  can- 
didates opposed  to  its  interests,  declared  war,  and  made 
treaties.  Not  only  did  this  industrial  system  thus  mold 
the  politics  of  our  country,  but  it  also  colored  the  moral 
and  religious  thought  and  feeling  of  the  entire  nation  ;  it 
forced  Southern  pulpits  to  manipulate  Holy  Writ  in  its 
-  defence ;  it  rent  in  twain  religious  organizations  that  were 
hoary  with  age.  Thus  we  see  that  negro  slavery,  an  indus- 
trial institution  in  its  origin,  affected  most  profoundly 
every  phase  of  our  institutional  life. 

If   this   analysis  be  correct,  the  following  conclusions 
may  be  drawn  : 

1.  That  the  life  of  a  people  is  an  organic  whole ;  that 
this  life  is  one  mighty  stream  of  five  currents  moving  on 
toward  one  goal ;  that  there  is  not  one  destiny  for  govern- 
ment, another  for  the  church,  another  still  for  the  school, 
and  a  different  one  for  industrial  and  social  interests,  but 
that  all  these  constitute  one  life  with  one  destiny. 

2.  That  the  student  must  trace  transverse  and  intricate, 
as  well  as  parallel,  lines  of  growth  in  the  subject  of  his- 
tory ;   that  he  must  take  each  great  event  and  each  great 
series  of  events,  and  discover  the  extent  to  which  many 
or  all  of  the  institutions  are  affected,  thus  producing  in 
his  own  mind  a  body  of  organized  knowledge  which  shall 
be  the  subjective  counterpart  of  that  objective  unity  found 
in  the  life  of  a  people. 


PROCESSES  INVOLVED  IN  ORGANIZING  HISTORY. 

The  General  Nature  of  Organization.  —  The  general 
principles  wrought  out  in  the  preceding  pages  throw  some 
light  on  the  possibility  of  organizing  historical  material. 
It  is  now  proposed  to  ask  how  the  mind  takes  what  appears 
at  first  view  as  disconnected  and  isolated  facts  of  history 
and  organizes  them  into  a  consistent  body  of  knowledge; 
to  state  and  illustrate  the  particular  processes  through 
which  this  material  goes,  and  the  final  form  it  takes  in 
the  mind  of  the  student.  This  will  make  clear  the  trans- 
formation of  historical  matter  into  a  system  of  thought. 

The  analysis  of  the  processes  involved  in  organizing  a 
subject  makes  the  student  conscious  of  the  so-called  scien- 
tific view  of  the  subject.  Science  declares  that  every 
subject  of  investigation  presents  two  sets  of  facts  for 
organization,  generals  and  individuals,  —  laws  and  princi- 
ples on  the  one  hand,  and  particular  and  specific  phenomena 
on  the  other.  Neither  set  viewed  alone  constitutes  the 
subject,  nor  do  both,  taken  merely  in  the  aggregate  ;  it  is 
only  when  the  mind  grasps  these  two  sets  of  facts  in  their 
organic  unity  that  we  have  a  subject  in  the  true  scientific 
sense.  The  relation  is  a  vital  one,  for  science  declares  that 
principles  *  are  originally  discovered  by  the  examination  of 

1  Principles  in  history  resemble  all  others  in  being  general  in  their 
nature,  and  differ  from  some  in  being  active  forces  moving  to  the 


20  GENERAL   NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

individual  facts,  while  the  latter  are  to  be  looked  upon  as 
the  concrete  embodiment  of  principles  ;  in  other  words,  if 
the  mind  begins  with  one  it  must  pass  to  the  other  and  back 
again  in  order  to  realize  the  scientific  ideal  so  far  as  organ- 
ization is  concerned.  The  problem  of  organization,  there- 
fore, is  really  the  problem  of  constructing  a  science,  that 
is,  of  discovering,  stating,  and  explaining  the  relations 
between  these  two  sets  of  facts. 

Organization  is,  therefore,  a  mental  process  and  not  a 
mechanical  one.  No  subject,  as  many  teachers  unfortu- 
nately think,  can  be  organized  in  a  notebook  or  on  a  black- 
board. At  best,  such  an  arrangement  of  "words  and  signs 
can  only  suggest  a  few  of  the  relations  and  processes 
involved  in  organization.  Too  often  systems  of  lines, 
braces,  and  brackets  delude  the  mind  and  become  a  sub- 
stitute for  that  real  organization  which  can  only  take 
place  in  the  thinking  mind. 

The  Organizing  Principle  of  History.  —  There  is  a 
central  principle  in  every  subject  which  sets  it  off  from 
every  other  subject,  and  at  the  same  time  is  the  very  core 
of  its  every  phase  and  fact.1  In  history  we  have  found 
this  central  principle  to  be  the  growth  of  institutional 

production  of  the  individual  facts  through  which  they  express  them- 
selves. Like  most  principles,  they  inhere  in  content  rather  than  in 
form,  and  vary  in  degree  of  generality  from  those  found  in  a  few  indi- 
vidual facts  to  those  sweeping  in  all  the  individuals  of  the  subject. 

1  A  fact  may  be  found  in  one  or  in  many  subjects  according  as 
it  contains  the  central  idea  of  one  or  many  subjects.  The  same  fact 
may  appear  in  biology,  geology,  and  history,  but  in  each  case  it  is 
related  to  a  different  principle  and  exhibits  a  different  content. 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  21 

life,  because  this  idea  touches  and  is  touched  by  all  the 
great  events  which  mark  the  course  of  human  destiny. 
Some  events  have  helped  and  some  have  hindered  the 
evolution  of  institutional  life,  but  all  have  been  related  to 
it.  Not  only  is  this  principle  fundamental  to  all  events, 
but  also  to  all  sub-phases  of  human  thought  and  feeling, 
whether  they  have  characterized  periods  of  calm  or 
periods  of  agitation,  —  periods  of  evolution  or  periods  of 
revolution.1 

The  Fundamental  Processes  in  Organization.  —  We 
have  already  learned  that  organization  names  the  proc- 
esses by  which  the  mind  arranges  the  material  of  a  sub- 
ject according  to  its  inherent  relations.  Based  upon  the 
relations  between  the  principles  of  history  and  its  par- 
ticular facts,  historical  organization  has  two  fundamental 
processes  : 

1.  Interpretation,  which  gives  the  basis  for  integration 
and  division ; 

2.  Coordination   and    subordination,  which,  results   in 
the  proper  selection  and  ranking  of  facts. 

THE  PROCESS  OF  INTERPRETATION. 
NATURE  AND  KINDS. 

Definition  of  Interpretation.  —  Interpretation  is  the 
process  by  which  the  mind  puts  meaning  or  content  into 

1  Some  excellent  thinkers  in  history  express  the  universal  organiz- 
ing principle  of  history  in  terms  of  rational  freedom.  Perhaps  the 
only  practical  objection  to  this  statement  of  the  principle  is  that  it  is 
too  abstract  to  permit  a  statement  of  subordinate  phases. 


22  GENERAL    NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

individual  facts.  This  is  a  universal  process  and  goes  on 
wherever  mind  and  object  meet.  In  each  individual  fact 
two  phases  of  content  are  discovered  by  interpretation  : 
one  phase  is  common  to  many  other  facts,  while  the  other 
is  peculiar  to  the  interpreted  fact.  When  interpretation 
reveals  a  content  common  to  many  individuals  the  basis 
of  integration  is  found,  while  the  discovery  of  the  particu- 
larizing element  furnishes  the  ground  for  division. 

In  history  the  process  of  interpretation  is  carried  on  by 
discovering  the  growth  of  institutional  life  in  particular 
events  or  in  some  more  individual  phase  of  thought  and 
feeling.  There  are  thus  two  kinds  of  interpretation  in 
history  ;  one  puts  content  into  events,  and  the  other  puts 
content  into  subordinate  phases  of  institutional  life. 

The  Interpretation  of  Events. — Here  external  occur- 
rences are  viewed  as  the  sign  of  some  internal  movement 
of  the  people's  thought'  and  feeling.  To  discover  this 
movement  through  its  sign,  the  event,  is  to  interpret  the 
latter.  We  have  learned  that  just  as  a  word  is  the  sign 
of  an  idea,  so  is  the  act  of  a  people  the  sign  of  their  ideas 
and  feelings.  The  event  is  the  more  easily  interpreted 
because  a  people  in  conscious  action  generally  selects  the 
kind  of  event  best  adapted  to  give  expression  to  its  states 
of  thought  and  feeling. 

The  full  meaning  of  an  event  is  obtained  by  viewing  it 
under  two  relations  :  1.  As  a  product  of  a  preceding 
movement  in  thought  and  feeling.  Here  the  event  is 
seen  to  emerge  from  the  concrete  life  of  a  people  and  to 
be  a  natural  and  normal  result  of  surrounding  conditions. 


PROCESSES   IN    ORGANIZING    HISTORY.  23 

In  other  words,  the  event  is  viewed  as  a  sort  of  receptacle 
into  which  the  preceding  current  of  public  sentiment  flows, 
and  which  it  really  created  in  the  course  of  its  develop- 
ment. 2.  The  second  step  in  the  interpretation  of  an 
event  is  to  view  it  as  a  factor  producing  changes  in  the 
movement  out  of  which  it  grew.  Here  the  event  returns, 
as  it  were,  into  the  stream  of  institutional  life,  and  works 
there  those  changes  which  it  is  capable  of  producing  as 
cause.  Both  of  these  points  of  view  of  the  content  of  an 
event  are  necessary  to  its  complete  interpretation.  If  the 
event  to  be  interpreted  is  a  great  one  or  is  long  continued, 
then  a  third  step  must  be  taken,  namely,  to  see  how  public 
opinion  changes  while  the  event  is  in  the  process  of  occur- 
ring. The  excitement  of  action  intensifies  thinking,  and 
produces  changes  in  the  minds  of  the  persons  involved. 
These  changes  are  often  very  great,  as  in  the  case  of  a 
series  of  events,  such  as  a  war.  Sometimes  this  is  the 
only  means  of  accounting  for  the  changes  set  on  foot  by 
the  event.  In  such  instances,  this  intermediate  step  would 
become  second  in  the  process  of  interpreting  an  event. 
Some  illustration  of  the  interpretation  of  events  will  serve 
to  make  the  conception  more  accurate. 

The  founding  of  Jamestown  was  an  external  event,  and 
it  remains  such  to  the  student  until  it  is  discovered  to  be 
the  product  and  the  sign  of  England's  desire  to  extend  her 
institutions  and  interests  to  the  western  continent.  Further 
content  is  given  to  this  event  when  its  success  is  seen  to 
stimulate  the  national  desire  for  colonial  empire. 

The  formation  of  societies  for  non-importation  by  the 


24  GENERAL    NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

colonial  merchants  is  an  event  to  be  interpreted.  In  gene- 
ral, this  is  to  be  done  by  discovering  in  these  organizations 
an  idea  reaching  further  than  they  did,  and  which  appears 
as  content  in  a  wider  range  of  events,  and  also  by  discover- 
ing in  them  a  form  of  sentiment  peculiar  to  them.  The 
idea  found  as  the  content  in  these  events  is  that  of  union 
then  (1765)  growing  up  and  beginning  to  control  the  acts  of 
the  colonists  from  Maine  to  Georgia.  We  put  union  into 
these  organizations  by  discovering  that  they  are  caused  by 
the  agitation  for  organized  resistance  to  the  Stamp  Act.  In 
doing  this  the  student  views  this  series  of  events  as  the 
natural  outgrowth  of  the  movement  toward  union  begun 
before  1765.  But  he  must  take  another  step,  and  trace  the 
immediate  effect  of  these  participations  in  organizations  on 
the  further  growth  of  the  sentiment  of  union,  and  thus 
gather  their  contribution  to  this  great  struggle.  This  is 
done  by  watching  how  cooperation  in  their  formation  and 
functions  roused  a  stronger  sentiment,  —  how  it  made 
aggressive  the  society  of  the  Sons  of  Liberty ;  gave  origin 
to  the  Daughters  of  Liberty  with  their  organizations  for 
the  promotion  of  household  production  and  the  develop- 
ment of  an  infectious  enthusiasm  for  American  liberty ; 
and  finally  how  it  stimulated  those  lower  passions  of  hate 
and  spite  between  the  friends  and  foes  of  the  new  move- 
ment, and  made  each  firmer  in  the  position  taken.  But 
the  student  must  go  further  in  his  interpretation,  and  trace 
the  effect  of  non-importation  upon  American  thought  and 
feeling.  He  must  see  how  the  merchants  gained  greater 
confidence  in  union  and  cooperation  through  these  organi- 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  25 

zations,  since  by  them  they  entailed  an  immense  industrial 
loss  upon  the  English  merchant,  manufacturer,  and  laborer. 
Here  the  student  ought  to  see  the  consternation  of  these 
classes  :  of  the  merchant  as  no  more  orders  for  goods  came 
from  America,  of  the  manufacturer  as  he  closed  his  estab- 
lishment or  discharged  a  portion  of  his  laborers,  of  the 
latter  as  they  ceased  to  draw  wages,  and  were  unable  to 
pay  debts  and  to  buy  food;  and  the  united  action  of  all 
these  in  storming  parliament  with  petitions,  and  finally 
the  great  speeches  in  that  body  which  reveal  changing 
national  sentiment  in  favor  of  repeal.  In  these  facts  he 
will  discover  the  true  explanation  of  how  fidelity  to  union 
was  exalted  into  a  virtue,  and  how  opposition  was  regarded 
as  a  crime,  how  non-importation  began  to  be  looked  upon 
as  an  efficient  means  of  commercial  retaliation,  which 
lasted  long  after  the  revolution  was  over. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  explain  here  how  the  process  of 
interpretation  cannot  be  carried  on.  It  is  customary,  when 
explaining  the  non-importation  societies,  simply  to  say  that 
"  they  were  caused  by  the  Stamp  Act."  For  the  student, 
this  may  or  may  not  be  true.  In  one  sense  it  cannot  be 
true,  for  one  external  act  has  little  if  any  direct  historical 
influence  over  another.  The  Stamp  Act  and  the  non-impor- 
tation societies,  as  external  facts  pictured  in  imagination, 
were  three  thousand  miles  apart  and  could  not  touch  each 
other.  Let  us  suppose  that  physical  contact  is  not  meant. 
Can  the  teacher  be  certain  from  the  statement  quoted  what 
is  meant  ?  Ordinarily  it  would  not  mean  that  the  relation 
to  public  sentiment  had  been  traced  ;  that  these  organiza- 


26  GENERAL    NATURE   OF    HISTORY. 

tions  had  been  seen  to  grow  out  of,  and  back  into,  this  sen- 
timent. Perhaps  the  pupil  is  left  to  the  ingenuity  of  his 
own  imagination  to  discover  the  true  relations  between 
these  events.  So  long  as  that  imagination  passes  directly 
from  one  event  to  another,  no  possibility  of  interpretation 
exists,  for  one  individual  fact  has  no  interpretative  power 
over  another  of  the  same  rank. 

The  Interpretation  of  Phases  of  Institutional  Life.  — 
The  fact  that  the  principles  of  a  subject  vary  in  degree  of 
generality,  and  that  the  less  general  phases  of  institutional 
growth  are  phases  of  some  more  general  movement,  makes 
the  process  of  interpretation  possible  for  this  class  of  his- 
torical facts.  This  form  of  interpretation  may  be  illus- 
trated in  a  brief  manner  by  the  following  example.  The 
dominant  idea  in  forming  the  Confederation,  the  cause  for 
which  the  small  states  struggled  in  the  convention  of  1787, 
the  principle  in  the  Kentucky  and  Virginia  resolutions,  the 
recommendations  of  the  Hartford  convention,  the  doctrine 
of  nullification  as  set  forth  by  Calhoun  and  South  Carolina, 
and  the  principle  of  secession,  were  only  phases  of  the 
same  great  idea,  —  the  sovereignty  of  the  state.  For  the 
mind  to  discover  the  identity  of  this  general  institutional 
idea  with  this  large  number  of  apparently  isolated  and 
particular  phases,  is  to  interpret  them.  The  meaning  of 
each  particular  phase  is  greatly  enriched  by  discovering 
in  it  the  principle  of  state  sovereignty.  Other  illustra- 
tions on  a  large  scale  may  be  found  in  the  phases  of  union 
developed  during  the  revolution,  and  also  in  the  sentiment 
of  nationality  from  1789  to  1860. 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  27 


FORMS  OF  THOUGHT  AND  SENTIMENT  AS  DISCOVERED  IN 
INTERPRETATION. 

Causes.  —  It  must  be  apparent,  already,  that  the  process 
of  interpretation  aims  to  put  the  student  into  close  and  inti- 
mate contact  with  the  people  whose  life  he  studies.  How 
to  make  events  and  other  facts  adequately  reflect  that  life 
is  a  vital  question  in  teaching  history.  In  order  to  do  this, 
at  least  all  the  important  phases  of  thought  and  sentiment 
in  a  given  movement  must  be  reached.  All.  the  various  color- 
ings that  public  opinion  puts  on  in  its  process  of  growth 
will  serve  to  deepen  and  enrich  impressions.  To  see  the 
way  in  which  these  various  effects  are  produced  in  insti- 
tutional life  greatly  aids  their  interpretation.  In  fact  it  is 
absolutely  essential  to  right  interpretation  that  history  be 
conceived  as  a  process.  But  it  is  difficult  to  view  it  as 
such,  although  we  have  seen  this  to  be  a  fundamental  char- 
acteristic of  its  content.  The  imagination  is  prone  to  pic- 
ture scenes  and  situations  and  thus  deceive  the  judgment 
into  thinking  history  statical.  This  false  view  is  best 
corrected  by  constantly  tracing  the  influences  and  forces 
that  produce  the  historical  process.  Such  factors  are 
denominated  causes,  but  they  are  such  to  the  student  only 
when  traced  into  the  current  of  institutional  life.  It  is 
quite  fashionable  now  to  go  outside  the  historical  field  into 
the  domain  of  geology,  geography,  and  so  on,  to  find  the 
causes  of  the  historical  process.  This  is  entirely  proper 
and  necessary,  provided  the  student  can  trace  these  extra- 


28  GENERAL   NATURE   OF    HISTORY. 

historical  causes  into  the  current  of  human  thought  and 
i'eeling  and  note  there  the  changes  made.  Only  in  this 
way  can  other  subjects  contribute  to  the  interpretation  of 
history. 

We  have  already  seen  that  in  the  general  process  of  in- 
terpretation the  student  must  put  into  the  event  the  public 
sentiment  that  precedes  and  succeeds  it.  In  doing  this 
the  mind  looks  upon  the  movement  of  this  sentiment  as 
a  cause  producing  the  event,  and  as  an  effect  partly  pro- 
duced by  the  event.  We  thus  see  that  the  content  of 
events  may  be  viewed  as  both  cause  and  effect.  It  will 
make  interpretation  clearer  if  we  look  at  the  nature  of 
historical  causes. 

Positive  and  Negative  Causes.  —  On  the  basis  of  their 
essential  nature  we  may  class  causes  as  positive  or  negative. 
Public  sentiment,  or  any  force  which  molds  public  senti- 
ment, is  positive  when  by  virtue  of  its  essential  nature  it 
tends  to  progress,  tends  to  promote  civilization.  A  posi- 
tive cause  is  constructive  in  intent  and  being.  A  negative 
cause  is  a  phase  of  public  sentiment  or  a  force  which  tends, 
from  its  inherent  nature,  to  be  destructive,  or  at  least 
obstructive  ;  it  tends  to  stand  in  the  way  of  progress. 
Thus  the  sentiment  that  favored  union  in  the  colonies 
against  the  aggression  of  England  was  positive,  while  the 
attitude  of  king  and  parliament  was  negative.  The  sen- 
timent in  favor  of  a  strong  government  during  the  Con- 
federation was  a  positive  cause,  for,  in  its  nature,  it  was 
progresssive  and  constructive  ;  while  the  opposition  to  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution  was  a  negative  cause,  for  the 


PROCESSES    IN    ORGANIZING    HISTORY.  29 

reason  that  it  tended,  from  its  nature,  to  hinder  progress. 
The  causes  of  the  Civil  War,  or  of  any  great  war,  may 
be  classified  in  the  same  way.  If  revolutions  be  compared 
as  to  the  number  of  positive  and  negative  causes,  it  will  be 
found  that  the  greater  number  of  negative  causes  belong 
to  the  most  destructive  revolutions,  while  the  number  of 
positive  causes  increases  as  the  revolution  approaches  the 
character  of  an  evolution  in  institutional  life.  Hence  the 
interpretative  value  of  classifying  the  causes  of  a  move- 
ment in  history  under  these  categories.1 

Fundamental  and  Particular  Causes.  —  In  viewing  the 
contents  of  events  as  active  forces,  a  more  valuable  classi- 
fication of  causes  may  be  found  based  upon  differences  in 
the  degree  of  generality  in  the  content.  On  this  basis  the 
student  will  discover  that  some  are  particular  and  special, 
while  others  are  general  and  fundamental.  The  particular 
and  the  general,  we  have  seen,  bear  a  vital  relation  to  each 
other  in  every  department  of  knowledge.  Hence,  to  be 
able  to  discover  a  series  of  causes  as  particular  phases  of 
some  greater  truth  means  not  only  more  perfect  interpre- 
tation, but  is  a  long  step  toward  organization  in  the  form 
of  integration.  An  illustration  will  make  this  clear.  Let 

1  Careful  analysis  will  reveal  that  positive  movements  produce  at 
times  negative  results.  The  American  Revolution,  as  a  whole,  was  a 
mighty,  positive  force,  making  for  progress  hi  almost  every  phase  of 
institutional  life,  and  yet  many  of  its  results  were  negative.  Likewise 
negative  causes  may  produce  positive  results.  The  Boston  Port  Bill 
was  negative,  and  yet  it  produced  many  positive  results.  In  all  such 
cases  some  factor  intervenes  to  turn  the  cause  toward  an  effect  oppo- 
site hi  nature. 


30  GENERAL   NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

us  take  the  causes  of   the  decline  of   the  Confederation. 
Here  they  are,  as  frequently  seen  in  text-books  : 

1.  The   Confederation   had   no    executive    or    judicial 
department. 

2.  Congress  could  not  raise  an  army. 

3.  No  power  of  direct  or  indirect  taxation  was  given  to 
the  Confederation. 

4.  Congress  had  no  control  over  domestic  commerce. 

5.  Congress    could    not    enforce    treaties    with    other 
nations. 

6.  The  Confederation   operated   on  states   and  not  on 
individuals. 

7.  The  Articles    of   Confederation   recognized  the  sov- 
ereignty of  the  state. 

8.  Voting  in  congress  was  by  states. 

9.  The  people  owed  allegiance  to  the  state  only. 

The  effect  of  these  and  of  other  causes  that  might  be 
named  was  the  destruction  of  the  Confederation.  As  causes 
they  were  forces  in  the  process  of  working  out  the  result 
indicated.  The  student  must  see  them  as  such  —  must 
witness  them  in  this  process  —  if  the  right  interpretation 
is  to  be  made  and  a  proper  value  set  on  each  cause  as  a 
factor  in  the  result.  But  there  are  three  views,  any  one 
of  which  he  may  take.  He  may  look  upon  these  state- 
ments as  expressing  a  given  amount  of  historical  fact, 
statistical  in  its  nature,  which  may  be  learned  by  usin:j 
memory,  thus  gaining  no  interpretation.  Again,  the  stu- 
dent may  see  each  of  these  as  a  real  force  moving  toward 
its  own  result.  Each  is  thus  only  an  individual  and 


PROCESSES   IN    ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  31 

isolated  cause  and  hence  of  little  organizing  value.  This 
is  always  the  result  of  seeing  only  a  series  of  direct  or 
particular  causes. 

The  above  points  of  view  may  be  taken  without  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  fundamental  cause  coming  into  the  stu- 
dent's mind.  In  this  state  of  mind  he  sees  no  connection 
between  the  first  cause  given  above  and  the  last  one.  The 
identity  of  causes  two,  three,  four,  and  so  on,  with  the 
last  cause  in  the  list  is  not  perceived.  The  only  con- 
nection, the  only  kinship  among  these  causes  that  this 
view  gives  is  that  each  aids,  as  a  cause,  in  producing  the 
same  result,  —  the  downfall  of  the  Confederation.  This 
process  is  vastly  superior  to  the  first  named,  for  it 
yields  more  discipline  and  a  better  understanding  of  the 
subject. 

Another  view  may  be  taken :  the  general  or  fundamental 
cause  may  be  found  and  the  others  may  be  interpreted 
with  reference  to  it.  The  careful  comparison  and  contrast 
of  the  causes  listed  above  will  show  that  the  first  eight 
are  closely  related  to  the  ninth  cause.  By  common  con- 
sent, when  the  colonists  transferred  their  allegiance  from 
England,  they  gave  it  on  all  domestic  concerns  primarily 
to  their  respective  colonial  governments/  The  Continental 
Congress  recognized  this  relation  in  creating  the  Confedera- 
tion by  making  the  states,  in  the  main,  sovereign.  Wherever 
primary  allegiance  is  placed,  there  sovereignty  will  reside. 
This  shows  that  allegiance  conditions  sovereignty,  and 
that  cause  seven  is  the  result  of  cause  nine.  Great  men 
like  Madison  and  Hamilton  attributed  much  of  the  Con- 


32  GENERAL   NATURE   OF   HISTORY. 

federation's  weakness  to  the  fact  that  it  did  not  operate  on 
individuals.  The  truth  is  that  the  Confederation  had  no 
individuals  —  citizens  —  on  which  to  operate.  The  people 
were  citizens  of  the  states,  because  they  had  placed  their 
allegiance  there,  hence  cause  nine  is  the  cause  of  cause  six. 
Why  could  not  congress  enforce  treaties  made  by  itself  ? 
Who  violated  such  treaties  ?  Evidently  the  citizens  of 
the  states.  What  power  had  congress  over  them?  None, 
since  they  owed  allegiance  to  their  respective  states. 
Thus  cause  five  is  the  effect  of  cause  nine.  The  fourth 
cause  in  the  list  bears  a  similar  relation  to  the  last  one. 
Logically,  the  framers  of  the  Confederation  could  not  have 
given  the  Confederation  control  over  domestic  commerce 
after  recognizing  that  the  people  owed  it  no  direct  alle- 
giance. It  would  simply  have  aggravated  the  situation  if 
the  Confederation  had  been  given  executive  and  judicial 
departments.  The  attempt  of  the  executive  to  enforce  the 
laws  of  congress  or  execute  the  decisions  of  the  judges 
would  have  brought  the  states  and  the  Confederation  into 
violent  collision,  for  the  citizens  of  the  states  would  have 
been  constantly  appealing  to  their  own  authorities  for  pro- 
tection. The  men  who  made  the  Articles  were  more  logical 
than  some  of  their  critics  have  been. 

In  the  same  way  the  remaining  particular  causes  of  the 
fall  of  the  Confederation  may  be  traced  to  the  fundamental 
cause,  thus  illustrating  its  interpreting  value,  as  compared 
with  the  other  possible  ways  of  viewing  the  causes  of  this 
great  event  in  American  history.  From  every  point  of 
view  we  must  see  that  the  reduction  of  these  causes  to 


PROCESSES   IN    ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  33 

their  highest  terms  is  vastly  more  to  be  desired  than  either 
of  the  other  methods  of  working  with  them. 

It  thus  appears  possible  to  reduce  a  series  of  particular 
causes  to  one  fundamental  one,  or  at  least  to  a  few.  In 
no  subject  Is  it  more  difficult  than  in  history  to  reduce 
diversity  to  unity.  The  constant  tendency  of  the  student, 
especially  in  dealing  with  causes,  is  to  enumerate  facts 
which  have  obvious  differences  and  take  it  for  granted  that 
a  new  fact  has  been  discovered,  when  in  truth  the  new 
fact  may  be  only  another  embodiment  of  a  general  idea 
which  has  already  been  often  discovered  in  other  particular 
facts.  A  similar  study  of  the  causes  of  the  Civil  War  will 
show  like  results,  the  reduction  of  a  larger  number  of 
particular  causes  to  one,  slavery,  or  at  most  two,  slavery 
and  state  sovereignty.  This  illustration  is  an  example  of 
the  process  of  interpreting  great  movements  as  a  whole  in 
the  light  of  their  causes,  and  may  also  be  viewed  as  illus- 
trating the  interpretation  of  particular  phases  of  thought l 
rather  than  the  interpretation  of  events.  It  is  very 
apparent  that  the  teacher  may  set  his  class  a  very  inter- 
esting and  valuable  problem :  Analyze  the  particular  causes 
for  a  general  cause  and  show  how  the  general  cause  is 
found  in  each  particular  cause. 

The  classification  applied  to  causes  may  be  extended  to 
effects  with  the  same  educational  advantages.  The  inter- 
pretation of  a  movement  as  a  whole  not  only  requires  a 
study  of  causes  but  also  of  its  effects,  for  the  nature  of 

1  Other  illustrations  of  this  most  important  form  of  interpretation 
will  be  given  under  the  various  periods. 


34  GENERAL   NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

a  movement  is  partly  expressed  in  its  results.  Results 
reflect  to  a  large  extent  the  movement  as  a  whole  which 
produced  them.  Hence  to  classify  these  as  positive  or 
negative  and  as  general  or  particular  is  to  give  a  fuller 
understanding  of  the  movement. 

Purpose  and  Means.  —  The  process  of  interpretation  is 
not  complete  if  it  leaves  out  of  the  content  of  historical 
facts  the  intention  and  motives  of  men.  The  ambition  of 
a  single  great  man,  the  plans  and  purposes  of  men  in 
organizations  —  societies,  parties,  armies,  or  nations  —  are 
factors  in  the  movement  of  history.  In  truth,  most  of  the 
physical  forces  of  history  are  transformed  and  enter  human 
consciousness  as  motives  and  ends  on  account  of  which  men 
struggle. 

Causes  and  effects  may  come  and  go  in  history  for  a  long 
time  without  arresting  the  attention  of  the  people,  or 
at  most,  without  absorbing  enough  notice  by  touching 
their  interests  to  create  a  conscious  effort  for  a  well- 
defined  end.  As  long  as  this  is  true,  the  categories  of 
cause  and  effect  are  sufficient  to  account  for  and  to  inter- 
pret historical  movements.  But  when  causes  and  their 
effects  begin  to  be  more  widely  recognized,  men  assume  a 
new  attitude  toward  them.  As  the  movement  increases  in 
intensity,  persons  arise  who  seek  to  promote  or  retard  it, 
or  it  may  be,  to  use  it  for  other  and  ulterior  ends.  When 
this  stage  is  reached,  the  student  must  always  take  into 
account  the  transformation  that  has  taken  place.  What 
was  once  an  unconscious  moving  energy  becomes  now  a 
great  stream  of  thought  and  activity  marching  toward 


PROCESSES    IN    ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  35 

some  well-defined  goal.  A  striking  illustration  of  this 
transformation  of  cause  and  effect  into  means  and  end  is 
seen  in  the  growth  of  sentiment  that  made  the  Civil  War 
possible.  Without  trying  to  be  very  specific  we  may  say 
that  one  of  the  causes  of  the  struggle  was  the  estrangement 
that  grew  up  between  the  two  sections.  This  result  was 
of  slow  growth,  its  roots  extending  far  back  into  colonial 
days.  But  in  that  early  time  no  one  recognized  or  took 
account  of  it,  —  its  work  was  going  on  silently.  It  was  not 
until  the  first  quarter  of  this  century  that  even  great 
statesmen  in  both  sections  began  to  bestow  upon  it  any- 
thing like  continuous  thought.  The  Missouri  struggle 
was  the  first  event  to  call  general  attention  to  the  grow- 
ing gulf,  and  although  the  Webster-Hayne  debate,  nulli- 
fication by  South  Carolina,  and  the  struggle  for  the  right 
of  petition  attracted  still  wider  attention  to  the  disparity 
in  thought  and  feeling  between  the  two  sections,  yet  the 
idea  of  their  estrangement  took  great  hold  on  only  a  few 
minds.  From  now  on  Webster  and  Clay  are  devoted,  each 
in  his  way,  to  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  while  Calhoun, 
perhaps  unconsciously,  gives  up  his  life  to  a  cause  that 
could  only  promote  the  growing  estrangement  of  the  two 
portions  ;  yet  it  is  plain  that  the  majority  of  the  people 
at  this  time  did  not  take  the  question  into  their  thoughts 
and  feelings  and  resolve  to  accomplish  certain  ends,  —  one 
part  of  the  people  had  not  yet  resolved  to  give  its  life  to 
secession  or  the  other  to  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 
More  and  more,  However,  these  ideas  began  to  win  men 
to  their  support,  tiU,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  fifties,  as 


36  GBNEEAL   NATURE   OF    HISTORY. 

the  old  parties  were  dissolving  under  the  pressure  of  the 
conflict,  the  two  sections  stood  arrayed  against  each  other, 
one  marshalling  its  forces  under  the  banner  of  secession 
and  the  other  under  the  flag  of  the  Union.  Yet  even  at 
the  opening  of  the  war  the  sections  were  not  agreed 
among  themselves  as  to  the  supreme  end  of  the  conflict. 
For  in  the  South  some  held  to  secession  only  as  a 
means  to  preserve  slavery,  while  in  the  North  some  still 
called  for  the  destruction  of  slavery  as  the  highest  aim 
of  the  war. 

Other  illustrations  will  be  found  in  the  organizing  ideas 
of  the  various  periods.  The  same  law  of  growth  —  the 
transformation  of  causes  and  effects  into  purposes  and 
means — will  be  seen.  The  mastery  of  this  relation  between 
these  two  pairs  of  categories  is  essential  in  the  explanation 
of  great  movements  in  history.  It  will  be  seen  how  inade- 
quate an  explanation  is  that  which  rests  on  causes  and 
effects  alone,  or  upon  purposes  and  means  alone.  It 
should  be  made  clear  that  purposes  and  motives  often 
arise  out  of  conditions  and  in  the  presence  of  facts  that 
may  be  called  causes,  and  that  these  causes  are  modified 
by  the  purposes  they  originate  and  the  means  used  in 
their  realization. 

The  effort  to  attain  ends  projected  by  men  as  individuals 
or  as  nations  will  give  rise  to  a  series  of  events.  This 
suggests  that  purposes  are  causes.  In  fact,  it  is  rightly 
held  that  the  purpose  of  an  event,  if  it  have  one,  is  its  true 
cause.  At  least  the  peculiar  form  of  the  event  is  due  to 
the  fact  that  it  comes  into  being  as  a  means  to  accomplish 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  37 

a  result  that  exists  in  idea  before  the  event  takes  place. 
This  difference  the  student  must  always  detect  between  an 
event  resulting  from  an  ordinary  cause  and  one  that  results 
from  a  purpose.  For  on  the  difference  in  the  form  of 
events  depends  the  conclusion  as  to  whether  they  result 
from  conscious  or  unconscious  thought  and  feeling.  The 
conventions  in  the  various  states  that  met  to  consider  the 
question  of  ratifying  the  Constitution,  took  their  peculiar 
form  as  events  from  the  nature  of  the  end  they  were  to 
subserve.  Their  adaptation  to  the  end  in  view  existed  in 
the  thought  of  the  people  before  the  conventions  existed  in 
fact.  We  cannot  say  that  the  Stamp  Act  Congress  was  in 
the  minds  of  British  statesmen  as  an  end  to  be  accomplished 
by  the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act.  But  one  cause  of  the 
Stamp  Act  Congress  did  exist  in  thought  before  it  did  in 
fact,  namely,  the  determination  to  secure  the  repeal  of  the 
Stamp  Act.  The  men  who  passed  the  act  did  not  con- 
sciously plan  to  arrange  the  act  so  that  it  would  produce  a 
congress  of  the  colonies,  but  the  men  who  secured  the 
repeal  of  the  act  did  consciously  plan  the  congress  to  that 
end.  There  is,  then,  a  greater  degree  of  adaptation  between 
the  purpose  and  its  means  than  between  the  cause  and  its 
effect.  This  greater  degree  of  adaptation  often  suggests  a 
difference  in  the  content  of  the  two  classes  of  events, 
especially  on  the  side  of  feeling.  The  event  or  the  series 
of  events  created  by  the  people  for  the  attainment  of  some 
cherished  end  is  permeated  by  an  intensity  of  feeling  that 
is  impossible  in  events  that  come  into  being  more  or  less 
unconsciously. 


38  GENERAL    NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

Without  this  idea  many  series  of  events  could  hardly  be 
organized.  How  could  the  individual  facts  of  a  military 
campaign  become  intelligible  unless  the  student  can  illumi- 
nate them  by  the  design  of  the  head  of  the  army  ?  How 
shall  it  profit  a  student  if  he  learn  the  numbers  and  disci- 
pline of  the  army,  the  amount  and  kind  of  arms  and  stores, 
the  position  of  the  troops,  the  character  of  the  country,  the 
movements  of  the  battle,  the  stratagems  employed,  without 
seeing  the  common  idea  in  each,  —  the  idea  that  makes  an 
intelligible  whole,  —  the  purpose  of  the  general.  Of  a 
series  of  events  used  as  means  the  end  must  be  seen  in 
each.  This  is  discovered  in  two  ways :  1.  By  noting  how 
the  means  are  adapted  to  secure  the  given  end.  This  point 
has  just  been  illustrated.  2.  By  watching  the  means  in 
the  process  of  working  out  the  end  in  view.  The  very 
nature  of  a  means  requires  that  it  shall  take  part  in  a  pro- 
cess, otherwise  the  end  could  never  be  actualized.  If  the 
student  fails  to  witness  this  process,  he  fails  to  get  at  least 
one-half  of  the  relation  which  means  bears  to  end.  It  is 
easy  to  say  or  to  learn  that  Hamilton's  bank  aimed  to 
strengthen  the  national  government.  It  is  quite  another 
thing  to  trace  the  steps  by  which  this  end  was  realized.  No 
doubt  Hamilton  and  Washington  and  the  leading  Federal- 
ists saw  the  bank  in  the  process  of  bringing  into  real  exist- 
ence a  result  that  once  existed  in  their  thoughts  and  desires 
only.  The  student,  to  reach  a  correct  interpretation,  must 
see  this  means  moving  to  its  end  just  as  the  men  who 
observed  it  did.  He  must  observe  that  the  creation  of  the 
institution  called  into  existence,  in  spite  of  a  most  deter- 


PKOCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING    HISTORY.  39 

mined  opposition,  the  doctrine  of  implied  powers  ;  that  the 
stock  of  the  bank  was  taken  up  by  business  men  with  great 
avidity,  thus  binding  certain  capitalists  to  the  government 
by  ties  of  interest,  and  giving  confidence  to  other  business 
men  ;  the  student  must  see  how  the  presence  of  uniform 
bank  notes  payable  in  specie  impressed  the  people  with  the 
wisdom  of  the  new  plan  and  the  weakness  of  the  old  ; 
how  the  credit  of  the  nation  in  the  eyes  of  foreigners  was 
raised  by  having  a  responsible  financial  agent  through 
which  it  could  secure  loans.  And  finally,  he  must  discover 
that  the  bank's  objects  were  so  perfectly  secured  that  its 
original  enemies  were  lessened,  its  recharter  defeated  in 
1811  by  but  one  vote  in  the  lower  house,  and  was  carried 
in  1816.  In  some  such  way  the  student  must  watch  and 
trace  means  in  the  very  process  by  which  their  ends  are 
attained.  Otherwise  a  set  of  means  becomes  a  mere  collec- 
tion of  mechanically  related  facts. 

Immediate  and  Remote  Ends.  —  In  the  process  of  inter- 
pretation it  is  helpful  to  distinguish  between  immediate 
and  remote  ends.  The  difference  here  is  mainly  one  of 
degree.  A  remote  purpose  is  one  that  can  be  secured  by 
the  use  of  many  intermediate  steps ;  but  the  people  may 
project  a  purpose  into  each  step.  The  people  as  a  whole 
come  more  easily  to  the  contemplation  of  immediate  than 
remote  ends.  The  probability  of  speedy  attainment  seems 
necessary  to  stimulate  the  majority  of  men  to  enthusi- 
astic devotion  to  a  cause.  Only  statesmen,  philanthro- 
pists, and  reformers  seem  able  to  strive  with  persistent 
zeal  for  ends  whose  fulfillment  may  belong  to  the  remote 


40  GENERAL   NATURE   OP   HISTORY. 

future.  The  student  must  see,  therefore,  that,  as  a  rule, 
the  more  immediate  the  purpose  he  finds  in  an  event  or 
series,  the  closer  he  is  getting  to  the  mind  and  heart  of  the 
people  as  a  whole  concerned  in  the  undertaking.  But 
while  this  is  true,  at  the  same  time  he  is  dealing  with  ends 
that  are  to  the  leaders  of  a  people's  destiny  only  so  many 
means  in  the  process  of  attaining  remote  and  more  pro- 
found objects.  It  thus  becomes  necessary,  if  the  student 
masters  the  thought  and  feeling  of  any  period  in  its  com- 
pleteness, to  compass  both  the  immediate  and  the  remote 
ends  and  aims  that  moved  the  people  of  that  time. 

The  levying  of  the  tax  on  tea  in  1767  had  for  its  imme- 
diate end  the  collection  of  a  revenue  on  tea  and  some  other 
articles.  This  seemed  to  most  of  the  people  of  England 
and  America  the  chief  end  in  view.  But  by  the  leaders  in 
both  countries  the  raising  of  a  revenue  was  looked  upon 
as  a  means,  while  the  ultimate  end  to  be  reached  was  the 
submission  of  America  to  parliamentary  authority.  In 
America  the  great  mass  of  the  people  had  before  them- 
selves resistance  to  the  tax  by  the  formation  of  non- 
importation and  non-exportation  societies,  while  the  leaders 
in  the  agitation  looked  upon  these  efforts  as  mere  means  in 
the  accomplishment  of  a  remote  and  more  universal  end, 
—  the  acknowledgment  that  Americans  were  entitled  to 
the  rights  of  Englishmen.  To  get  the  full  content  of  this 
struggle,  the  student  must  find  the  motives  of  all  parties 
engaged  in  it. 

In  the  efforts  to  attain  their  ends  men  and  nations 
bring  about  results  which  were  not  planned  by  them,  and 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  41 

whose  occurrence  they  could  not  foresee.  Men  may  plan 
and  arrange  means  to  carry  out  definite  ends,  but  effects  of 
an  opposite  nature  often  result  from  their  efforts.  Passion, 
interest,  and  selfishness  may  be  the  motive  and  the  end, 
yet  out  of  these  may  come  results  that  will  bless  posterity 
to  the  remotest  generations.  The  selfishness  of  slavery 
annexed  Texas  and  brought  on  war  with  Mexico,  from 
which  was  wrested  an  imperial  domain.  Yet  how  different 
the  remote  result  from  the  immediate  aim.  Morris'  Hegel 
contains  the  following  on  this  general  point : 

"  The  particular  historic  event  exists  by  the  grace  of  the 
particular  volition  of  a  particular  human  being  ;  it  is  im- 
mediately what  the  individual  intended,  and  is  explained 
by  his  intention,  but  by  the  grace  of  God  it  acquires  a 
character  beyond  what  was  intended,  requiring  a  deeper 
and  broader  explanation.  The  whole  interest  and  thought 
of  the  individual  may  be  practically  confined  to  his  imme- 
diate personal  aims  and  restricted  plans.  Beyond  them  he 
may  not  consciously  see ;  to  aught  beside  them  he  may  be 
indifferent.  But  the  sequel  shows  them  to  have  been  the 
material  for  the  accomplishment  of  a  plan  of  history, 
which  is  none  other  than  the  realization  on  this  planet  of 
self-consciousness  and  self-mastering  spiritual  existence, 
passing  himself  through  knowledge  and  control  of  a  natural 
world  of  which  he  is  the  crown,  and  through  knowledge 
and  love  of  a  God  who  is  the  ultimate  ground  and  the 
eternal  goal  of  all  travail  both  of  Nature  and  of  Man. 
Thus  God  makes  even  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise 
him." 


42  GENERAL   NATURE   OF   HISTORY. 

This  view  makes  the  whole  process  of  history  —  all  its 
events  and  all  ambitions  of  men  and  of  nations  —  a  means 
in  the  working  out  of  the  Divine  Ideal. 

MATERIAL  PRESENTED  FOR  INTERPRETATION. 

Second-hand  Material The  facts  of  history  come  to 

the  student  in  all  stages  of  interpretation.  The  ordinary 
narrative  text-book  mainly  confines  itself  to  a  description 
of  the  externals  of  history  while  adding  some  statements 
about  ideas  and  sentiments.  If  the  events  are  presented 
fully  enough,  the  teacher  will  have  an  excellent  opportu- 
nity to  train  to  interpretation  by  means  of  inferences  as 
to  the  content  of  events.  But  since  the  power  to  infer 
specific  content  from  the  form  of  the  event  is  limited,  there 
is  need  of  a  larger  presentation  of  the  facts  in  order  to 
'obtain  a  fuller  interpretation.  These  facts  may  sometimes 
come  from  the  teacher,  but  better  from  the  students  by  the 
use  of  larger  works  as  references.  The  demands  of  accu- 
rate interpretation  will  not  be  met  by  turning  this  fuller 
reading  into  a  mere  hunt  for  additional  facts,  for  each 
would  demand  interpretation  ;  but  since  each  new  fact  is  an 
element  in  the  greater  event,  it  will  make  its  contribution 
to  the  interpretation  needed,  if  the  right  attitude  of  mind 
is  assumed.  But  if  the  student  is  taught  by  experience  to 
expect  that  an  enumeration  of  facts  will  be  called  for,  he 
will,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  prepare  for  it.  If,  how- 
ever, additional  and  richer  meaning  of  the  event  is  pressed 
for,  he  will  fuse  his  collection  of  details  into  some  great  idea 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  43 

which  he  now  sees,  perhaps  for  the  first  time,  to  be  a  por- 
tion of  the  content  of  the  great  event. 

The  point  of  view  in  gathering  material  to  aid  in  inter- 
pretation is  of  great  consequence,  for  in  still  another  way 
may  it  fail  of  its  end.  It  is  often  mistakenly  believed 
that  some  unusual  value  attaches  to  gathering  the  opinions 
of  the  various  authorities.  In  the  first  place,  works  of 
similar  scope  do  not  vary  enough  in  the  amount  of  matter 
and  the  peculiarity  of  opinions  to  make  it  worth  while 
to  search  for  them.  In  the  second  place,  even  if  the 
wor.ks  are  much  larger  and  from  a  different  point  of 
view,  it  is  far  better  for  the  student  to  feel  that  he  is 
interpreting  history  rather  than  the  views  of  various 
authorities. 

Original  Material.  —  Every  historical  people  leaves  be- 
hind, in  some  form  or  other,  the  direct  records  of  its  ideas 
and  sentiments,  customs  and  institutions.  These  records 
are  the  first-hand  material  out  of  which  history  is  made, 
and  consist,  in  the  main,  of  official  documents  setting  forth 
the  ideas  and  principles  of  government ;  of  the  declarations 
of  political  parties,  or  the  creeds  of  religious  sects  ;  of  the 
speeches  before  legislative  and  judicial  bodies  ;  of  the  cor- 
respondence and  diaries  of  men,  great  and  small ;  of  orations 
made  on  the  platform,  —  in  short,  of  any  contemporaneous 
writings  that  express  the  nature  and  tendency  of  public 
sentiment  in  any  period.  The  value  of  such  material 
largely  depends  upon  the  position  of  its  author.  If  he  was 
in  a  position  to  speak  for  a  community,  a  party,  or  the 
nation,  his  utterance  must  be  of  first  importance  in  ena> 


44  GENERAL    NATURE   OF    HISTORY. 

bling  the  student  to  put  the  right  meaning  into  the  facts 
which  he  is  endeavoring  to  interpret.  Of  course,  the  record 
is  of  much  greater  value  if  it  embodies  officially  the  institu- 
tional ideas  of  the  whole  community. 

The  superiority  of  this  sort  of  material  in  the  process  of 
interpretation  may  be  understood  from  the  following  con- 
siderations :  1.  The  facts  thus  presented  are  first-hand  — 
unorganized,  and  the  student  is  left  to  contend  with  a  real 
problem  with  no  ready-made  solution  at  hand;  he  must 
work  without  the  author's  aid.  Without  discussing  the 
educational  value  of  this  sort  of  work,  it  is  apparent  at 
a  glance,  that  a  wide  difference  separates  the  direct  study 
of  the  Mayflower  Compact  from  the  study  of  a  school 
text's  statements  about  this  document.  2.  This  direct 
study  brings  immediate  contact  with  the  source  of  truth 
concerning  the  content  of  the  Compact.  It  is  possible  that 
texts  have  been  written  whose  authors  did  not  have  first- 
hand access  to  the  material  of  history,  but  have  written 
from  another's  interpretation  of  that  material.  But  what  of 
it  ?  Simply  this  :  the  student  of  such  a  text  will  be  still 
farther  removed  from  the  real  source  of  truth,  and  like  the 
author,  not  knowing  all  the  concrete  facts,  or  not  knowing 
them  exactly  as  they  were,  may  make  erroneous  interpre- 
tations. 3.  Even  if  the  facts  obtained  in  the  above  way  are 
correctly  interpreted,  there  is  yet  something  lacking  in  the 
effect  produced,  which  can  only  be  supplied  by  applying 
the  process  of  interpretation  to  original  material.  In  no 
other  way,  in  the  study  of  historical  material,  may  the 
student  get  deep  and  realistic  conceptions  of  the  life  he 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  45 

studies  —  ideas  and  passions,  motives  and  prejudices,  and 
all  those  subtle  influences  that  go  to  make  up  concrete 
public  sentiment.  Take  the  examples  of  interpretation 
given  above  :  how  much  more  easily  and  correctly  could 
the  student  put  the  right  content  into  the  events  connected 
with  founding  Jamestown  if  he  could  read  the  motives  of 
king  and  company  in  the  charters  granted,  and  could  add 
to  these  the  opinions  of  the  settlers.  Even  the  writings 
of  John  Smith,  with  all  their  exaggerations,  would  give 
meaning  and  reality  to  these  events,  such  as  could  come  in 
no  other  way.  Again,  how  can  the  student  get  most  easily 
and  fully  into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  colonial  mer- 
chants, the  motives  and  passions  that  swayed  them  when 
organizing  the  non-importation  associations  ?  Evidently 
by  reading  the  addresses  sent  to  king  and  parliament  and 
to  the  colonial  legislatures ;  by  reading  the  resolutions  of 
town  meetings  in  pledging  support ;  by  studying  the  cor- 
respondence between  the  associations  of  different  towns, 
and  by  following  the  newspaper  and  pamphlet  war  that 
arose  over  these  organizations  and  their  work.  Likewise 
with  the  struggle  over  state  sovereignty,  or  any  other 
phase  of  thought  which  the  student  tries  to  reach  through 
events.  Depth  of  impression  and  richness  of  content  will 
always  come  from  this  sort  of  face  to  face  contact  with  a 
people. 

Original  matter  may  be  made  to  serve,  as  in  the  case  of 
reference  histories,  merely  as  another  source  of  individual 
facts.  This  defeats  its  use  as  a  means  of  interpretation. 
In  order  to  make  it  serve  this  function  truly,  the  additional 


46  GENERAL   NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

matter  must  be  used  as  a  key  to  the  content  of  the  event 
or  movement  under  consideration.  The  student  must  not, 
unless  he  is  searching  for  undiscovered  truth,  get  the  idea 
that  he  is  examining  records  as  records  to  determine  their 
historical  accuracy.  Historical  interpretation,  and  not  his- 
torical criticism,  is  his  problem. 

THE  EDUCATIONAL  VALUE  OF  INTERPRETATION. 

Nature  of  the  Question.  —  The  examination  into  the 
nature  of  the  process  of  interpretation  has  furnished  the 
basis  for  an  intelligible  answer  to  the  problem  of  its  edu- 
cational value.  There  are  two  phases  to  the  question  : 
one  inquires  concerning  the  effect  of  interpretation  upon 
the  crude  material  of  history,  and  the  other  concerning 
the  resulting  mental  discipline  and  development.  These 
two  phases  of  the  inquiry  are  intimately  related,  since  both 
at  bottom  are  questions  of  mental  experience  and  should  be 
separated  only  for  convenience  in  discussion. 

Integration  and  Unification.  —  Interpretation  produces, 
on  the  side  of  knowledge,  an  integrated  or  synthesized 
product.  Since  the  ordinary  methods  of  studying  history 
do  not  accomplish  this  important  educational  result,  it  is 
worth  while  to  bring  this  historical  product  into  conscious- 
ness and  analyze  it  carefully.  Interpretation  unifies  the 
facts  of  history  because  it  discovers  in  them  a  common 
content,  and  this  subjects  them  to  the  only  process  by 
which  knowledge  is  unified.  This  is  a  universal  process, 
since  it  is  common  to  the  organization  of  material  in 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  47 

every  realm  of  knowledge.  It  is  also  a  process  of  highest 
educational  value  on  account  of  the  degree  of  strength 
called  forth.  No  other  subject  appears  at  first  glance 
less  likely  to  admit  of  any  sort  of  integration.  On 
its  external  side  —  the  one  from  which  the  student  first 
sees  it  —  history  seems  a  wilderness  of  unrelated  facts. 
But  interpretation,  by  discovering  common  ideas,  estab- 
lishes order  among  these  facts  and  connections  among 
the  larger  parts  of  the  subject ;  and  if  the  process  of 
interpretation  is  carried  on  till  the  student  finds  the  com- 
mon content  of  all  the  leading  facts  of  history,  the  result 
is  the  integration  of  the  subject  as  a  whole.  The  mind 
now  sees,  not  isolated  and  diverse  facts,  but  one  great  fact, 
—  the  growth  of  institutional  life.  In  order  to  estimate 
the  educational  value  of  the  historical  whole  we  must 
examine  into  the  nature  of  the  different  forms  it  may 
take.  There  are  two  of  these  :  one  in  which  the  whole 
is  a  mere  aggregation  with  its  parts  of  the  same  nature, 
while  in  the  other  form  the  whole  is  a  principle,  or  idea, 
and  the  parts  are  its  phases.  There  is  a  vast  difference  in 
the  pedagogical  value  of  these  two  forms,  and  in  the  pro- 
cesses by  which  they  are  wrought  out ;  and  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  the  teacher  be  able  to  recognize 
which  kind  of  an  historical  whole  he  is  creating  in  the 
student's  mind. 

The  Mechanical  Historical  Whole.  —  One  of  the  com- 
monest illustrations  in  history  of  this  first  form  of  whole 
is  that  of  time- whole.  This  is  not  only  common,  but  is  very 
superficial.  Ideas  grow  and  events  occur  in  time,  it  is  true, 


48  GENERAL    NATURE    OF  .HISTORY. 

but  neither  are  controlled  merely  by  the  lapse  of  years. 
New  ideas  and  new  movements  do  not  begin  with  the 
opening  of  the  year  nor  cease  with  the  closing  of  a  cen- 
tury j  hence  time-wholes  and  time-parts  are  more  or  less 
artificial  —  are  aggregations  of  events  united  by  a  bond 
that  is  outside  of,  and  apparently  around,  them.  We  may 
think  of  the  expedition  against  Lexington  and  Concord  as 
occurring  within  one  day,  thus  surrounding  the  event  in 
imagination  by  the  limits  of  a  day.  The  events  under 
this  mental  form  are  an  aggregation,  exhibiting  no  living 
principle  which  gives  them  organic  union.  This  event 
may  be  thrown  into  time-parts  by  perceiving  that  one 
portion  of  the  events  occurred  before  daylight,  another  in 
the  forenoon,  and  still  others  in  the  afternoon.  These 
smaller  wholes  are  artificial,  for  they  do  not  correspond 
to  the  real  parts  of  the  event;  but  even  if  they  did  so 
correspond  it  would  only  be  a  coincidence.  The  imagina- 
tion may,  and  often  does,  hold  a  vague  picture  of  the 
events  of  American  history  as  limited  by  the  two  points 
in  time,  — 1492  and  1907.  This  is  also  a  mere  aggrega- 
tion. It  may  be  definitely  separated  by  other  dates  into 
smaller  wholes  —  each  time-whole  bearing  a  name  which 
calls  up  a  confused  jumble  of  events  that  have  only  time 
limits.  Such  periods  of  history  —  if  they  are  entitled  to 
so  dignified  a  term  —  are  mere  mechanical  wholes. 

Another  illustration  of  the  aggregate  whole,  in  contrast 
with  the  organic,  is  the  space-whole.  We  picture  the  events 
of  the  American  Revolution  as  having  certain  place-limits, 
and  in  so  doing  we  create,  as  it  were,  an  aggregation  —  a 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  49 

mass-whole.  By  picturing  some  of  these  events  as  belong- 
ing in  the  North,  some  in  the  West,  and  others  still  in  the 
South,  we  drop  our  revolutionary  space- whole  into  smaller 
wholes.  These  are  not,  as  the  imagination  pictures  them, 
derived  from  any  peculiar  differences  in  the  events  them- 
selves, but  are  rather  divisions  based  on  differences  in 
place,  into  which  we  mechanically  force  the  events. 

It  is  necessary  that  the  mind  should  view  the  events 
of  history  under  the  forms  of  time- wholes  and  place-wholes, 
but  such  artificial  aggregates  can  hardly  be  ends  in  knowl- 
edge. It  would  be  dangerously  superficial  to  let  the  rela- 
tively mature  mind  stop  with  such  forms  of  thought  or 
to  give  much  conscious  attention  to  their  creation.  Such 
work  belongs  to  the  stage  of  immaturity,  but  for  the  logical 
stage  of  thought  this  should  be  incidental  and  should  result 
from  the  mind's  struggle  with  events  under  the  higher 
form  of  integration. 

The  Organic  Historical  Whole.  — The  other  form  of 
integrated  product  is  one  in  which  parts  are  made  into  a 
whole  by  the  presence  of  a  common  idea  which  perme- 
ates each  part.  Such  a  whole  may  be  called  an  organic 
one  —  one  in  which  each  part  exists  for  the  whole  and  the 
whole  for  each  part.  There  is  a  life-connection  here,  for 
the  destruction  of  the  whole  results  in  the  disintegration 
of  the  parts.  This  whole  is  not  an  aggregate  but  a  prin- 
ciple, and  its  parts  are  not  smaller  aggregates,  but  phases 
of  the  general  truth.  Such  a  whole  expresses  itself  out- 
wardly by  an  aggregation,  and  each  phase  of  the  general 
idea  manifests  itself  in  some  part  of  the  aggregation. 


50  GENERAL    NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

To  see  the  history  of  our  country  as  an  organic  whole 
requires  that  the  student  shall  find  one  idea  —  the  growth 
of  institutional  thought  and  feeling — manifesting  itself 
in  all  the  details  of  that  history.  This  idea  constitutes 
the  whole  of  our  history  and  also  its  phases  —  growth 
of  local  institutions,  union,  and  a  national  spirit.  These 
phases  are  usually  denominated  periods,  and  are  really 
smaller  wholes  when  considered  in  themselves.  Periods 
in  history  are  such  for  the  student  by  virtue  of  the 
process  of  integration  which  follows  from  ,  interpretation 
having  discovered  the  great  dominant  phase  of  growth 
which  characterizes  the  period  and  which  furnishes  the 
content  of  leading  events  of  the  time.  The  periods  so 
viewed  are  organic  wholes.  They  must  be  such  in  order 
to  give  the  highest  form  of  knowledge  and  the  greatest 
degree  of  discipline. 

Comparison  the  Basis  of  Integration.  —  Fuller  meaning 
can  be  given  to  the  educational  value  of  integration  in 
history  if  we  turn  from  its  form  —  the  historical  whole — 
to  its  process,  comparison.  Integration  is  a  synthetic 
process.  Constructive  mental  processes  in  history,  as  in 
all  subjects,  are  based  upon  the  discovery  of  resemblances 
in  the  facts  interpreted.  The  process  of  interpretation 
which  results  in  integration  is  carried  on  by  the  special 
process  of  comparison,  —  the  process  by  which  the  mind 
discovers  resemblances.  Comparison,  then,  is  the  mental 
instrument  by  which  historical  wholes  are  wrought  out. 

In  order  to  produce  the  best  results,  comparison  should 
become  a  conscious  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  student. 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING    HISTORY.  51 

When  he  feels  its  value  by  actual  conscious  experience, 
he  becomes  self-directive.  Nothing  frees  him  sooner 
from  the  monotony  and  drudgery  of  the  history  text 
than  a  conscious  search  for  likenesses.  These  are  not 
often  formally  expressed  in  school  histories,  so  that  this 
work  may  be  performed  by  him  under  the  stimulus  of 
a  direction  or  question  put  by  the  teacher.  Such  work 
stimulates  to  real  discovery  ;  the  student  feels  that  he 
is  getting  more  than  is  expressed  in  the  book  he  uses, 
and  this,  too,  without  the  direct  aid  of  the  teacher.  The 
consciousness  of  his  own  strength  thus  comes  to  him, 
and  he  begins  to  be  a  seeker  after  first-hand  historical 
truth.  When  the  student  forms  a  taste  for  searching  after 
resemblances  in  historical  material,  the  teacher  will  have 
no  trouble  at  all  in  leading  him  into  the  habit  of  enlarging 
his  comparisons  by  searching  more  than  one  author.  It 
must  be  kept  in  mind  here  that  this  extension  of  the  proc- 
ess is  not  for  the  purpose  of  being  able  to  state  the  par- 
ticular views  of  each  author,  but  rather  that  the  student 
may  have  a  deeper  and  fuller  knowledge  of  the  facts  under 
investigation.  If  the  likenesses  and  differences  between 
authors  are  constantly  alluded  to,  the  attention  is  put  in 
the  wrong  place.  This  is  not  a  distinction  without  a 
difference.  Nothing  is  more  common  in  teaching  history 
than  for  very  different  results  to  come  from  different 
teachers,  apparently  doing  the  same  thing  in  the  same 
way.  This  arises  from  a  very  subtle  difference  —  a 
difference  in  the  point  of  conscious  attention  or  em- 
phasis. 


52  GENERAL    NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

Integration  through  Comparison  Simplifies  Historical 
Knowledge.  - —  This  does  not  mean  simplification  by  a 
reduction  in  the  number  and  complexity  of  its  facts,  but, 
as  hinted  several  times  above,  by  discovering  unity  in 
the  midst  of  diversity.  This  is  the  process  by  which  the 
student  grows  into  the  conviction  that,  comparatively, 
only  a  few  great  ideas  have  battled  for  mastery  on  the 
fields  of  history ;  it  convinces  him  that  new  and  strange 
events  may  be  only  the  new  embodiment  of  old  ideas  ; 
new  and  strange  as  to  form,  but  old  as  to  content. 

Division  and  its  Uses.  —  It  is  a  law  of  knowledge  that 
whatever  features  enter  into  subjective  truth  must  have 
their  correspondence  with  objective  truth.  In  no  other 
place  is  this  principle  more  often  violated  than  in  making 
divisions  in  history.  Perhaps  the  reason  is  found  in  the 

fact  that  such  divisions  are  made  instead  of  discovered. 

.• 
In  our  analysis  of  the  nature  of  history  it  was  seen  that 

in  obedience  to  the  law  of  continuity  there  are  no  gaps  or 
breaks  in  the  institutional  life  of  a  people,  but  that  con- 
tinuous and  connected  growth  is  its  characteristic  feature. 
It  was  discovered  that  the  phenomena  of  history  are  sub- 
ject to  another  principle  of  development,  —  differentiation. 
It  is  the  movement  of  institutional  life  under  this  law  that 
enables  the  student  to  discover  progressive  changes  in  the 
line  of  growth  and  thus  mark  transitions  from  one  phase  of 
thought  and  feeling  to  another.  The  operation  of  this  law 
enables  him  to  discover  in  the  midst  of  some  dominating 
movement  different  tendencies  which  may,  under  favoring 
conditions,  become  in  turn  the  feature  of  some  other  period. 


PROCESSES   IN    ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  53 

When,  by  interpretation,  it  is  noted  that  certain  periods 
of  time  are  marked  by  peculiar  phases  of  life,  the  basis 
for  a  division  into  parts  is  found.  If  this  is  to  be  done 
consciously  for  purposes  of  organization,  three  or  four 
suggestions  must  be  followed  :  (1)  as  already  intimated, 
the  parts  are  to  be  discovered,  not  made,  —  must  be  found 
in,  rather  than  fitted  on,  the  subject ;  (2)  that  if  coordinate 
and  logical  parts  are  to  be  found,  there  must  be  but  one 
basis  of  division  for  any  set  of  parts  and  that  basis  must 
be  the  phase  of  growth  that  integrates  the  facts  of  the 
period,  or,  if  possible,  some  phase  of  this  integrating  idea ; 
(3)  the  basis  of  division  ought  to  be  a  fundamental  one, 
that  is,  some  phase  of  institutional  growth  rather  than 
portions  of  time,  parts  of  country,  or  series  of  events. 

It  is  quite  the  custom  to  divide  history  into  parts  on  the 
basis  of  differences  in  time,  thus  marking  centuries,  half- 
centuries,  and  decades  in  the  subject.  But  these  are  not 
so  much  divisions  in  the  thing  studied  as  divisions  in  the 
calendar.  It  is  evident  to  the  student  of  life  that  the  end 
of  one  century  and  the  beginning  of  another  no  more  mark 
the  end  of  one  movement  and  the  beginning  of  another 
than  any  year  within  the  hundred  does.  Life  moves  right 
on  over  decades  and  centuries  —  does  not  stop  to  take  a 
holiday  the  first  day  of  each  new  year  as  is  implied  in 
dividing  and  classifying  events  by  years.  Such  divisions 
may  be  convenient  when  speaking  of  history  in  a  general 
way,  but  they  certainly  do  not  in  themselves  reveal  or 
designate  anything  fundamental  in  the  life  studied.  But 
if  the  student  needs  a  framework  to  lean  upon,  as  little 


54  GENERAL   NATURE   OF    HISTORY. 

harm  will  come  from  a  chronological  division  as  from  any 
other  artificial  means. 

The  same.objection  holds  against  geographical  divisions. 
These  may  seem  to  be  convenient,  but  are  generally  super- 
ficial, misleading,  and  give  no  insight  into  the  nature  of 
the  thing  studied.  The  familiar  division  of  our  history 
into  discoveries,  settlements,  intercolonial  wars,  war  of 
the  revolution,  confederation,  administrations,  and  so  on, 
gives  parts  that  are  not  entirely  artificial,  but  are  based 
on  differences  in  events  ;  they  are  somewhat  superficial, 
for  they  deal  with  the  externals  of  history  rather  than  with 
history  itself.  The  basis  of  separation  is  not  fundamental 
enough  to  be  helpful  in  the  process  of  organization.  If 
we  drop  below  the  surface-play  of  events  to  the  growth 
of  institutional  ideas  —  the  principle  on  which  the  sub- 
ject as  a  whole  is  integrated — and  ask  what  are  the  great 
differentiating  features  of  American  institutional  life,  it 
will  be  found  that  between  1607  and  1860  there  are  three 
great  forms  of  development  :  (1)  the  growth  of  European 
ideas  into  local  institutions  ;  (2)  the  growth  of  local  insti- 
tutions into  the  form  of  a  nation  ;  (3)  the  development  of 
the  spirit  of  nationality.  This  division,  to  be  true,  must 
meet  all  the  requirements  of  organization. 

The  process  of  division  is  not  an  end  in  itself,  but  a 
means  to  more  concrete  interpretation  and  more  minute 
integration.  History  is  separated  into  its  parts,  not  only 
because  there  is  a  basis  for  separation  in  the  thing  itself, 
but,  pedagogically,  because  it  enables  the  mind  to  attack 
the  problem  of  historical  organization  in  detail.  This  idea 


PROCESSES   IN    ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  55 

of  division  as  a  means  to  more  concrete  study  will  be  amply 
illustrated  in  the  application  of  the  principle  of  organiza- 
tion to  the  various  periods  and  sub-periods. 

The  process  of  division  is  an  analytic  one,  so  far  as  the 
subject  of  history  is  concerned.  In  this  respect  division 
is  the  opposite  of  integration  in  its  product  and  in  its  proc- 
ess. Hence  the  discovery  of  differences  in  the  act  of 
interpretation  trains  the  mind  to  make  careful  discrimina- 
tions. To  get  the  exact  phase  of  public  sentiment  demands 
a  most  discriminating  judgment.  Interpretation  can  be 
made  to  do  this  if  the  teacher  knows  the  content  of  the 
events  interpreted  and  presses  the  student  for  it. 

It  is  difficult  to  see  how  this  analytic  study  can  be  pushed 
too  far  if  there  goes  at  each  new  step  the  new  act  of  syn- 
thesis —  the  making  of  a  new  integration.  But  when  the 
end  is  forgotten,  and  especially  when  the  process  is  applied 
to  the  mere  form  of  historical  material,  events  and  other 
accidental  features,  then  there  is  danger  ahead. 

Most  of  the  so-called  "  methods "  of  teaching  history, 
such  as  the  topical,  the  outline,  the  diagram,  the  exponen- 
tial, and  the  brace  method,  are  based  merely  on  the  rela- 
tions of  whole  and  part.  A  student  may  outline  or  diagram 
a  lesson  in  history  as  presented  by  some  author,  and 
know  almost  nothing  about  it.  The  most  imposing  out- 
lines or  diagrams  of  history  are  those  made  independent 
of  any  real  basis  of  division,  while  to  be  of  any  teaching 
value,  they  must  adhere  to  some  fundamental-  idea  as  a 
basis,  which  usually  renders  them  insignificant  in  appear- 
ance. It  should  not  be  forgotten  by  the  diagram-maker 


56  GENERAL   NATUltE   OF    HISTORY. 

that  the  student  must  understand  the  relations  in  history 
before  he  can  make,  a  logical  diagram,  and  that  after  these 
relations  are  once  mastered,  he  has  comparatively  little 
use  for  such  artificial  representations.  Again,  the  outline 
and  diagram  represent  historical  material  as  statical,  while 
in  truth,  it  is  predominantly  dynamical.  On  still  another 
count  'these  artificial  systems  are  found  wanting ;  they 
represent  on  the  blackboard  or  in  the  notebook  a  thing 
that  has  no  corresponding  existence  in  fact ;  often  the 
pupil  carries  away  only  a  picture  of  the  subject  in  two 
dimensions  —  a  picture  utterly  unlike,  in  form  and  feature, 
the  facts  studied  ;  and  the  only  redeeming  feature  about 
it  is  that  the  pupil  will  lose  his  false  conception  as  soon 
as  the  artificial  framework  passes  away.  Finally,  these 
systems  at  best  are  based  upon  but  two  out  of  the  many 
categorical  relations.  Diagrams  are  a  means,  but  not  a 
means  of  very  high  order. 

Interpretation  Develops  the  Historical  Judgment.  —  In 
the  discussion  upon  the  nature  of  history,  it  was  discovered 
that  the  acts  of  individuals  or  of  nations  are  adapted  to 
express  the  thought  and  feeling  that  give  rise  to  them. 
The  imagination  sets  men  and  nations  before  the  judgment 
in  the  process  of  acting.  From  what  they  are  seen  to  do 
and  from  the  way  in  which  it  is  done,  the  judgment  reaches 
its  conclusions  as  to  the  thoughts  and  feelings,  ideas  and 
emotions  that  give  rise  to  the  events  and,  therefore,  give 
meaning  to  them.  This  act  of  judgment  is  the  interpreta- 
tive act  proper,  and  the  faculty  that  puts  it  forth  may  be 
designated  as  the  historical  judgment.  History  is  entitled 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  57 

to  give  name  to  this  phase  of  the  judgment's  activity  from 
the  fact  that  history  almost,  if  not  entirely,  alone  stimulates 
and  develops  it.  It  would  seem  that  it  is  reserved  for  his- 
tory to  confer  upon  the  mind  the  peculiar  and  very  important 
faculty  of  reading  thought  and  feeling  through  deeds. 

The  training  which  gives  the  power  to  reach  the  plans 
and  purposes  of  men  through  their  acts  has  not  only  high 
pedagogical  value,  but  also  has  very  great  practical  value. 
Progress  in  historical  study  is  largely  dependent  upon  the 
growing  skill  with  which  the  student  can  infer  accurately 
and  rapidly  the  content  of  events  as  they  pass  in  quick 
review  before  the  imagination.  Mere  accumulation  of 
facts  in  memory  is  not  meant  here,  but  instead,  that  power 
which  gets  from  events  or  facts  described  in  historical 
narrative,  their  true  significance.  The  power  to  do  this 
has  direct  and  important  bearing  on  the  affairs  of  every- 
day life.  What  else  are  men  doing  who  meet  each  other  in 
the  various  walks  of  life  ?  Men  contend  or  men  cooperate 
in  the  conduct  of  all  the  institutions  of  human  society. 
But  to  do  either  well — intelligently  and  successfully — they 
must  penetrate  to  ideas,  motives,  and  plans  through  the 
deeds  of  one  another.  How  poorly  we  judge  of  the  con- 
duct of  men  and  of  society!  Surely  there  is  need  that 
teachers  of  history  shall  recognize  and  utilize  the  capacity 
in  their  own  subject,  to  confer  upon  the  student  this  pecu- 
liar guiding  power. 

The  exercise  of  the  historical  judgment  in  the  process 
of  interpretation  fosters  the  formation  of  a  most  valuable 
habit  of  mind,  — the  habit  of  questioning  appearances.  This 


58  GENERAL    NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

is  not  only  an  important  historical  habit,  but  it  is  of  great 
thinking  value  to  the  non-historical  student,  for  its  tend- 
ency is  to  force  the  mind  to  look  through  appearances  to 
reality  —  to  look  through  phenomena  to  the  laws  of  phe- 
nomena. Every  act  of  historical  interpretation  gives  the 
mind  this  tendency. 

Emotional  Results  of  Interpretation.  —  The  preceding 
discussion  of  the  educational  value  of  interpretation  has  con- 
sidered only  intellectual  processes  and  products.  But  some 
of  the  most  valuable  results  of  historical  study  pertain  to  the 
stimulus  of  emotions  and  the  development  of  character.  In 
the  first  place,  the  process  of  interpretation  in  history  gives 
the  rational  basis  for  interest  in  the  subject.  It  brings 
the  mind  of  the  student  into  direct  contact  with  mind  as 
it  manifests  itself  in  history ;  this  is  life  in  touch  with  life. 
The  life  of  the  student  responds  to  the  touch  of  the  life 
of  other  men  in  other  times.  This  is  inevitable,  for,  as  he 
touches  the  whole  round  of  human  experience  as  it  is 
reflected  in  events,  he  will  find  much  that  is  closely  akin 
to  his  own.  It  seems  strange,  therefore,  that  any  one 
should  dislike  history.  About  the  only 'way  to  prevent  a 
love  of  history  from  arising  in  the,  normal  mind  is  t<? 
refuse  it  the  opportunity  of  free  and  sympathetic  contact 
with  life  — i  refuse  to  allow  it  to  enter  into  the  minds  and 
hearts  that  lived  and  struggled  as  it  lives  and  struggles. 
This  is  accomplished  by  turning  the  student  out  to  pasture 
on  dead  events — disconnected  and  empty.  This  is  a  peda- 
gogical consideration  of  some  importance  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  many  pupils,  and  students  even,  not  only  do  not 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING    HISTORY.  59 

like  history  but  have  a  positive  dislike  for  it.  There  are 
many  artificial  means  used  to  create  an  interest  in  history, 
but  the  results  are  usually  delusive  because  their  resem- 
blance to  the  real  thing  makes  their  detection  very  difficult. 
The  pupil,  and  even  the  student,  may  be  apparently  inter- 
ested in  history  because  of  an  admiration  for  the  teacher, 
or  a  desire  to  make  a  high  record,  or  to  stand  well  in  the 
estimation  of  the  class,  or  to  be  an  honor  student,  or 
because  of  some  taking  device  that  the  teacher,  for  the 
time  being,  employs  to  revive  the  lagging  interest.  None 
of  these  reach  the  test  of  true  interest ;  each  represents  a 
form  of  interest  that  deludes  teachers,  pupils,  and  students. 
Interest  in  the  thing  for  its  own  sake  is  the  only  genuine 
interest.  Proper  interpretation  will  give  this. 

In  the  second  place,  the  intimate  contact  with  the  life 
of  the  past  gained  through  a  proper  interpretation  of  events 
has  a  still  deeper  significance  in  its  relation  to  the  emo- 
tions ;  it  is  the  basis  of  an  intelligent  patriotism.  In  this 
sort  of  work  the  student  lives  over  again  the  life  he  studies. 
He  sympathizes  with  and  admires  men,  parties,  and  nations 
in  their  struggles  for  a  just  cause.  His  heart  warms  to  a 
noble  idea  or  sentiment  as  he  traces  its  conflict  with  preju- 
dice and  custom.  On  the  other  hand,  he  comes  to  despise 
the  unjust  cause  and  the  efforts  of  men  who  live  under  the 
impulse  of  unworthy  ideals  and  employ  ignoble  means. 
He  is  impressed  with  the  idea  that  after  a  time  the  right 
comes  to  prevail,  and  that  men  and  nations  who  turn  their 
backs  upon  a  good  cause  and  deliberately  choose  the  baser 
course  will,  in  the  end,  pay  dearly  for  their  choice. 


60  GENERAL   NATURE   OF    HISTORY. 

Such  a  study  will  enable  one  to  put  a  juster  estimate  on 
the  rights  and  privileges  that  have  been  won  for  him.  He 
thus  comes  to  feel  a  deep  current  of  sympathy  with  that 
for  which  his  own  nation  stands.  He  loves  it  for  what  it 
has  been,  what  it  is,  and  for  what  it  will  become.  This  is 
an  intelligent  patriotism  —  the  only  safe  kind.  Historical 
interpretation  is  the  only  source  of  this  form  of  devotion 
to  country.  It  may  be,  that,  since  this  ideal  of  historical 
study  is  only  partly  realized,  it  is  necessary  to  have  a  flag 
over  each  schoolhouse  in  the  land.  Perhaps,  even  if  this 
ideal  were  realized,  it  would  still  be  desirable  to  have  the 
flag  always  in  sight,  but  surely  the  patriotism  that  comes 
from  having  the  flag  in  the  mind  and  heart  of  each  American 
citizen  is  the  safer  sort. 

Ethical  Value  of  Interpretation.  —  When  the  student 
passes  from  the  study  of  causes  to  the  study  of  purposes 
and  motives,  his  whole  attitude  of  mind  changes.  From 
the  very  nature  of  the  case,  he  is  challenged  to  pass  judg- 
ment on  the  actors  in  the  drama  of  passing  events.  He 
judges  of  their  ability  and  sagacity  in  forming  designs 
and  in  selecting  means  for  their  realization.  In  the  pur- 
chase of  Louisiana  the  student  will  say  that  Jefferson 
shows  himself  to  be  a  farseeing  and  disinterested  states- 
man, but  that  in  his  plan  of  coast  defence  he  exhibits 
great  ignorance  of  methods  of  war.  In  a  similar  way 
he  will  judge  the  statesmanship,  on  its  intellectual  side, 
of  all  the  great  and  small  men  who  have  figured  in  our 
history.  But  on  another  side,  and  one  having  very  inti- 
mate connection,  as  we  have  seen,  with  the  question  of 


PROCESSES    IN   ORGANIZING    HISTORY.  61 

right  interpretation  in  history,  the  student  is  still  more 
persistent  in  his  determination  to  arraign  men  and  meas- 
ures before  the  bar  of  judgment ;  I  mean  the  moral  quali- 
ties of  the  motives  which  move  men  to  action.  In  this 
field  he  would  praise  Washington  and  La  Fayette  for 
disinterested  devotion  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  while  he 
would  have  condemnation  for  the  selfishness  of  Gates 
and  Lee.  He  would  extol  John  Quincy  Adams  for 
fidelity  to  principle  both  as  president  and  as  congress- 
man. His  admiration  for  Webster  will  turn  to  regret 
when  he  listens  to  the  "  Seventh  of  March "  speech. 
Just  as  in  the  conduct  of  individuals,  he  will  com- 
mend or  condemn  political  parties  for  the  motives  that 
sway  them. 

This  process  may  go  on  in  the  student  more  or  less 
unconsciously.  At  least  it  may  go  on  without  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  teacher,  unless,  by  the  character  of  the  inter- 
pretation he  stimulates  the  student  to  give  frequent  ex- 
pression to  his  conclusions  in  this  field.  The  fact  that 
the  student  will  reach  such  conclusions  is  a  sufficient 
reason  why  the  teacher  should  guide  him  in  the  process,  — 
guide,  but  not  dominate,  his  inferences.  No  other  phase 
of  historical  interpretation  opens  up  so  widely  the  oppor- 
tunity for  mistakes  in  judgment,  even  where  the  student 
is  free  from  prejudice.  He  needs  here,  if  ever,  the  guiding 
hand  of  one  who  has  sought  truth  for  its  own  sake  — and 
found  it.  This  guidance  finds  its  best  work,  not  in  giving 
the  student  bald  conclusions  which  he  must  accept  because 
the  teacher  is  supposed  to  be  better  authority  than  he  is, 


62  GENERAL   NATURE   OF   HISTORY. 

but  in  leading  him  to  gather  sufficient  data  to  make  his 
own  inferences  reasonably  true. 

The  reaction  of  this  phase  of  study  on  the  student  is 
very  profound  but  also  very  subtle.  It  is  sometimes  good 
and  sometimes  bad.  The  study  of  generous,  broad-minded, 
unselfish  conduct  is  ennobling  in  a  high  degree,  but  the  stu- 
dent must  come  in  contact  with  conduct  of  another  sort. 
How  rudely  is  he  sometimes  shocked  when  a  great  character 
whom  he  very  much  admires,  as  Webster,  Clay,  or  Calhoun, 
goes  astray  and  devotes  the  energy  of  his  mighty  genius 
to  an  unworthy  cause.  The  student  in  this  formative 
period  of  mind  sets  his  ideal  high,  and  to  find  in  men  he 
admires  any  serious  departure  from  this  tends  to  shake 
his  confidence  in  humanity.  This  is  a  result  that  certainly 
ought  not  to  come  about,  and  it  need  not.  It  ought  not  to 
come  about  because  it  is  usually  based  on  insufficient  his- 
torical data,  and  is,  therefore,  not  true  to  history.  Again, 
it  ought  not  to  come  about  for  the  reason  of  its  disastrous 
influence  upon  the  ethical  life  of  the  student  —  it  may 
make  him  cynical  and  pessimistic.  There  is  no  necessity 
for  a  result  so  untrue  to  history  and  so  harmful  to  the  stu- 
dent. The  teacher  may  direct  the  interpretation  of  events 
in  the  light  of  purposes  and  motives  so  that  the  whole 
truth  of  history  may  be  revealed  and  its  ethical  message 
to  the  student  may  not  be  perverted. 

Three  things  can  the  teacher  do  to  prevent  false  inter- 
pretation :  1.  He  can  show  the  student  that  unfair  judg- 
ments may  be  reached  by  projecting  his  own  standard 
and  that  of  the  present  into  the  past  and  by  trying  men 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING    HISTORY.  63 

and  motives  by  them.  The  student  has  been  taught  the 
highest  respect  for  the  Constitution,  and  when  he  reads 
the  story  of  Patrick  Henry's  vehement  opposition  to  its 
ratification,  the  reputation,  and  perhaps  the  character,  of 
that  patriot  falls  in  his  estimation.  He  finds  it  difficult 
to  reconcile  Washington's  love  of  liberty  and  his  sacrifices 
for  it,  with  his  owning  slaves  5  and  even  more  so  in  the  case 
of  Henry  Clay.  But  it  is  evident  that  in  each  instance  the 
student  is  trying  these  men  in  the  light  of  his  own  times. 
The  teacher's  duty  is  to  make  him  truer  to  history,  and  then 
he  will  be  truer  to  these  men  and  truer  to  himself.  2.  A 
second  means  may  be  used  to  preserve  the  ethical  equilib- 
rium of  the  student,  —  a  judicious  emphasis  upon  the  lives 
of  men  who  have  been  moral  heroes,  and  there  are  plenty 
of  such  lives.  The  student,  like  the  public  in  which  he 
lives,  takes  it  for  granted  that  great  men  do  good  deeds, 
and  so  he  is  not  particularly  struck  with  the  everyday  life 
of  good  men  as  we  have  their  acts  in  history.  For  the 
truth  of  history,  then,  the  student  should  have  his  atten- 
tion consciously  directed  to  the  influence  of  good  men  on 
the  growth  of  our  institutions.  This  will  not  be  untrue  to 
history,  for  the  influence  of  the  Arnolds,  the  Burrs,  and 
others  who  have  tried  to  harm  the  nation  for  personal  ends, 
has  been,  comparatively  speaking,  very  slight  indeed.  3. 
We  noticed  in  another  paragraph  that  there  is  a  tide  in 
the  affairs  of  men  that  seems  not  always  to  be  of  their 
own  planning.  It  rides  over  their  narrow,  sordid,  selfish 
purposes  and  makes  for  ends  and  results  far  beyond 
human  comprehension.  Or  it  may  be  a  mighty  wave  of 


64  GENERAL,   NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

chastening  public  sentiment  that  rises  and  overturns  the 
schemes  of  men,  thus  reaching  some  great  end  in  the  way 
of  which  men  and  parties  stood.  The  selfishness  and  greed 
of  men  and  parties  have  thus  been  punished  by  what  seemed 
an  avenging  public  opinion.  The  'American  Revolution, 
the  annihilation  of  the  Whig  party,  and  the  defeat  of  the 
Democrats  between  1854  and  1860,  and  the  destruction 
of  slavery  by  the  proclamation  of  the  son  of  a  poor 
white  in  order  to  suppress  armed  resistance,  are  instances 
of  great  movements  to  secure  great  ends.  These,  and 
others  like  them,  can  give  the  student  confidence  in  the 
ultimate  triumph  of  right  over  wrong.  They  will  also  give 
him  confidence  in  the  ability  of  the  American  people  to 
overthrow  organized  selfishness  in  whatever  form  it  may 
appear. 

THE  PROCESS   OF  COORDINATION. 
NATURE  OF  THE  PROCESS. 

The  Basis  of  Coordination It  has  been  said  that  the 

proper  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  organization  of 
knowledge  in  general,  and  of  historical  knowledge  in 
particular,  depends  on  discovering  and  utilizing  the  rela- 
tions which  exist  between  the  particular  facts  and  the 
fundamental  principle  of  a  subject. 

Investigation  will  show  that  the  facts  of  a  subject  em- 
body its  fundamental  principle  in  various  ways  and  in 
varying  degrees.  Translated  into  the  language  of  history, 
this  means  that  different  events  embody  the  growth  of 
institutional  ideas  in  different  degrees.  In  carrying  on 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  65 

the  process  of  historical  interpretation,  the  process  by 
which  the  mind  searches  for  the  growth  of  ideas  in  events, 
the  student  is  frequently  struck  by  the  richness  with 
which  some  events,  and  the  barrenness  with  which  others, 
reveal  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  the  people. 

Theoretical  and  Practical  Need. — In  order  to  organize 
.historical  knowledge  then,  something  more  is  necessary 
than  mere  interpretation,  however  valuable  that  is  or  how- 
ever perfectly  it  may  be  done.  It  is  necessary,  therefore, 
for  the  student  to  pass  judgment  upon  the  relative  value 
of  the  facts  or  events  that  have  been  interpreted.  The 
practical  need  of  this  is  very  apparent  in  a  field  like  his- 
tory, where  the  facts  are  almost  limitless  in  number,  and 
where  they  range  through  all  degrees  of  complexity.  The 
life  of  one  man  like  that  of  Franklin  has  almost  innu- 
merable incidents  attending  its  course.  The  history  of  a 
single  state  numbers  its  facts  almost  without  limit.  What, 
then,  must  be  true  of  the  amount  of  matter  that  may  be 
handled  in  dealing  with  the  life  of  a  great  nation  ?  There 
must  be  selection  and  emphasis  here,  or  history  must  be 
given  over  as  a  disorganized  and  lawless  subject. 

There  are  few  teachers  who  have  not  felt  the  pressing 
need  of  some  means  of  selecting  from  the  vast  amount  of 
matter  to  be  found  in  text-books  and  libraries  that  particu- 
lar portion  having  the  highest  historical  significance.  The 
small  amount  of  time  devoted  to  history,  compared  with 
the  vast  extent  of  the  field,  makes  the  question  of  selection 
and  emphasis  a  really  "  practical"  question.  It  comes  every 
day  alike  to  the  teacher  in  the  grades  and  the  professor 


66  GENERAL    NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

in  the  university.  For  the  sake  of  truth  and  for  the  sake 
of  the  learner,  each  must  make  an  attempt  to  solve  the 
problem. 

The  ordinary  way  is  to  trust  the  text-books  —  at  least, 
in  the  public  schools ;  and  in  colleges,  adaptability  as 
material  for  an  interesting  lecture  is  too  often  the  basis 
of  selection.  If  the  teacher  will  compare  different  text- 
books on  history  as  to  the  amount  of  space  given  to  events, 
it  will  be  apparent  why  most  of  them  cannot  be  trusted  to 
settle  the  question  of  the  relative  value  of  the  facts  treated. 
Not  many  years  ago  a  very  popular  text-book  on  United 
States  history  was  issued  that  gave  one-half  of  its  pages 
to  our  history  before  the  Revolution.  If  the  teacher  trusts 
this  text-book,  her  pupils  will  spend  as  much  time  on  our 
history  before  1760  as  after  it.  The  same  text  gives  many 
pages  to  John  Smith's  exploits,  and  a  very  few  lines  to 
the  establishment  of  representative  government  in  Virginia 
by  Governor  Yeardly,  —  an  event  full  of  destiny.  King 
Philip's  war  in  New  England  and  the  Body  of  Liber- 
ties established  by  Massachusetts  in  1641  are  treated 
after  a  similar  fashion  ;v  about  two  hundred  lines  are  given 
to  the  former  and  less  than  a  dozen  lines  to  the  latter.  A 
number  of  other  text-books,  while  giving  attention  to  King 
Philip's  war,  do  not  even  mention  the  Body  of  Liberties, 
nor  the  early  efforts  of  the  Connecticut  settlers  at  consti- 
tution-making. Illustrations  may  be  multiplied  to  show 
that  authors  of  school  histories,  as  a  rule,  have  no  well- 
defined  principle  of  selection  or  emphasis,  and  that  the 
teacher  who  is  guided  by  them  alone  will  often  go  astray. 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  67 

Of  course,  we  ought  not  to  infer  that  an  author  in  all  cases 
expects  teachers  to  value  his  material  by  the  amount  of 
space  given  it.  In  many  cases,  from  the  nature  of  the 
facts,  the  amount  of  space  given  to  their  narration  must 
be  out  of  proportion  to  their  significance.  But  even  if  the 
teacher  could  trust  the  author  to  select  and  distribute  his 
material  according  to  its  value,  he  would  still  need,  in  order 
to  be  free,  a  standard  by  which  he  could  test  the  value  of 
the  material  for  himself.  There  is  no  growth  for  the 
teacher  except  through  freedom  conferred  by  working 
under  the  guidance  of  principles. 

The  Principle  Stated.  —  All  these  considerations,  theo- 
retical and  practical,  demand  that  the  principle  of  selection 
and  emphasis  in  history  be  a  fundamental  one,  —  one  to 
which  the  student  and  teacher  may  appeal  with  some  de- 
gree of  certainty.  This  standard  must  not  be  an  accidental 
one  ;  it  must  not  be  set  up  by  the  whim  of  any  person  and 
be  changed  with  a  change  of  teachers,  but  must  be  one 
derived  from  the  very  essence  of  history  itself — from  the 
relations  that  exist  between  its  facts  and  its  organizing 
principle.  Since  the  events  of  history  express  the  growth 
of  institutional  life  in  different  degrees,  it  must  follow 
that  they  will  have  historical  value  in  proportion  to 
their  content.  We  may  safely  set  up  the  growth  of  insti- 
tutional life  as  the  standard  for  making  this  test  of  histor- 
ical value.  To  state  the  principle  somewhat  formally,  it 
may  be  said  that  that  event,  series,  or  period  has  the  high- 
est historical  value  which  reveals  most  fully  the  people's 
institutional  thought  and  feeling.  Such  a  fact  takes  high- 


68  GENERAL   NATURE   OF    HISTORY. 

est  rank.  On  the  other  hand,  that  event,  series,  or  period 
which  yields  the  least  historical  significance  will  take 
lowest  rank  in  the  subject. 

Suggestions  as  to  Application.  —  There  are  two  phases 
of  this  question  of  historical  selection.  The  teacher,  like 
the  author,  must  first  choose  between  the  facts  to  be 
omitted  and  those  to  be  taken.  In  the  second  place, 
a  .careful  measure  of  the  relative  value  of  those  selected 
must  be  made.  The  utility  of  our  standard  of  selection 
is'  apparent  from  the  fact  that  we  must  appeal  to  it  in 
making  our  choice  in  each  case.  Why  should  any  fact 
in  American  history  be  omitted  and  another  fact  selected? 
The  only  logical  answer  is  that  the  fact  rejected  does  not 
sufficiently  reveal  to  the  student  the  growth  of  institu- 
tional life.  Why  should  De  Soto's  expedition  form  a 
part  of  a  course  in  American  history,  while  a  hundred 
other  Spanish  explorers  and  their  work  go  unnamed  ? 
The  only  reason  is  that  the  work  of  De  Soto  had  a  more 
intimate  connection  with  our  institutions  than  had  those 
omitted.  If  one  had  to  choose  between  the  work  of 
George  Eogers  Clark  and  that  of  Daniel  Boone,  in  the 
Revolution,  on  what  basis  should  the  choice  be  made  ? 
Whose  work  contributed  most  to  the  development  of  the 
American  institutions,  would  be  the  question  to  put.  The 
answer  to  this  question  is  the  answer  to  the  other  question. 
Problems  like  these  come  to  the  teacher  when  he  attempts 
to  make  his  own  working  outline,  or  when,  for  the  lack  of 
time,  he  must  omit  portions  of  the  history  text  or  spend 
little  time  upon  them.  The  rational  answer  in  each  case 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING    HISTORY.  69 

is  to  be  found  in  the  relation  of  the  fact  to  the  funda- 
mental or  organizing  principle. 

It  is  this  phase  of  the  question  which  presses  con- 
stantly upon  the  teacher  and  is  the  one  that  has  most  to 
do  with  the  distribution  of  the  pupil's  time  and  energy. 
This  question  has  been  variously  designated  :  some  call  it 
"historical  emphasis,"  others,  "historical  perspective." 
Whatever  the  name,  the  principle  is  the  same,  and  in  its 
application  has  to  do  with  deciding  between  the  relative 
value  of  periods  or  series  of  events,  between  the  members 
of  the  series,  and  between  features  of  each  event. 

In  dealing  with  the  relative  value  of  these  forms  of  his- 
torical facts,  the  teacher  can  save  time  for  the  student  by 
deciding  in  a  general  way  the  relative  amount  of  study 
that  is  to  be  given  to  the  various  periods  of  history. 
After  this  is  disposed  of,  the  next  question  of  relative 
values  arises  from  within  the  periods.  Each  period,  it 
will  be  learned,  is  marked  by  a  dominant  movement  in 
institutional  growth.  This  dominant  movement  furnishes 
the  leading  content  for  interpretation,  and  also  the  stand- 
ard for  the  relative  value  of  the  various  series  of  events 
that  are  found  within  the  period.  The  next  problem  re- 
lates to  the  relative  value  of  the  various  series  constituting 
the  period  ;  these  express  in  different  degrees  the  funda- 
mental idea  of  the  period,  hence  have  different  historical 
values  and  are,  therefore,  entitled  to  attention  and  emphasis 
in  like  proportion.  But  the  problem  of  relative  values  has, 
at  least,  one  more  important  phase  :  Which  is  the  greatest 
and  which  is  the  least  event  in  the  series?  A  series  is 


70  GENERAL    NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

such  by  virtue  of  a  dominant  idea,  which  idea  is  either 
some  phase  of  the  dominant  idea  of  the  period  or  is  vitally 
connected  with  it.  How  the  events  of  the  series  embody 
this  sub-idea  is  the  test  of  their  respective  values. 

It  is  desirable,  if  not  necessary,  here  to  call  atten- 
tion to  the  value  of  certain  external  features  of  events. 
Two  in  particular,  time  and  place,  or  chronology  and 
geography,  ought  to  be  considered.  As  ordinarily  viewed 
these  two  features  or  accompaniments  of  events  pertain 
rather  to  the  external  side  than  to  the  content  of  events. 
When  so  viewed  they  can  have  little  or  no  historical  value. 
This  ought  to  suggest,  to  teachers  of  dates  and  dots  on 
maps,  that  there  is  possibly  something  wrong  in  the  ven- 
erable custom  of  committing  to  memory  long  lists  of  dates 
and  places  of  events.1  Let  us  search  for  a  rational  basis 
for  judging  the  place  of  chronology  and  geography  in 
history. 

Growth  in  institutional  ideas  is,  as  we  have  seen,  along 
lines  parallel  in  time.  Events  are  located  along  these  lines 
of  growth  at  intervals  of  time,  this  location  serving  as  a 
means  of  marking  off  the  stages  in  the  development  of 
ideas.  It  facilitates  interpretation  to  know  the  place  in 

1  It  is  strange  how  teachers  who  do  this  deceive  themselves  into 
believing  in  its  value.  The  trick  is  simple.  After  the  lists  are  com- 
mitted and  some  time  has  elapsed,  the  teacher  begins — it  may  be  on 
review  —  to  call  for  the  time  and  place  of  events  that  belong  to  the 
lists.  Those  who  have  supple  verbal  memories  respond  easily  and  cor- 
rectly ;  those  who  have  learned  no  list,  cannot  give  the  exact  date  and 
place,  and  so  ignominiously  fail.  Hence  the  great  value  of  committing 
dates  and  dots  t 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  71 

time  an  event  occupies  along  this  line.  Its  location, 
however,  includes  more  than  knowing  its  mere  date ;  for 
we  may  know  the  date  of  an  event  as  an  abstract  and 
empty  thing,  out  of  all  relation  to  other  events  and  there- 
fore miss  all  suggestion  as  to  its  content.  The  fixing  of 
an  event  in  time  must  be  by  associating  with  it  events 
and  phases  of  thought  that  precede,  succeed,  and  are 
simultaneous  in  time.  It  often  occurs  that  the  associa- 
tion of  historical  facts  in  the  order  of  time  suggests  that 
they  may  be  more  fundamentally  related  as  cause  and 
effect,  or  that  there  may  be  a  similarity  of  significance. 
Whenever  time  associations  are  made  among  such  facts 
it  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  never  for  the  sake  of 
the  date.  The  date  cannot  be  an  end  in  itself  in  the 
process  of  interpretation ;  it  must  always  remain  a  ser- 
vant. This  fact  rightly  understood  will  prevent  the  per- 
nicious practice  of  committing  long  lists  of  dates  with 
only  the  name  of  the  event  attached.  The  same  Amount 
of  energy  given  to  a  study  of  the  thoughts  and  feelings 
of  the  people,  as  revealed  in  the  events  belonging  to  the 
list  of  dates,  would  give  a  fair  knowledge  of  their  con- 
tent ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  dates  of  the  events  would 
be  sufficiently  fixed.  This  would  be  a  study  of  history ; 
date-learning  is  not. 

Institutions  must  grow  somewhere,  and  the  place  in  which 
a  people's  life  develops  exerts  a  powerful  influence  over 
it.  Not  only  do  climatic  influences  modify  man's  physical 
activity  but  his  spiritual  as  well ;  in  one  region  physical 
conditions  favor  reflection  while  in  another  they  stimulate 


72  GENERAL   NATURE    OF    HISTORY. 

sensuous  enjoyments.  The  physical  differences  between 
the  North  and  the  South  partly  caused  their  wide  contrasts 
in  institutional  life,  and  through  the  latter  the  Civil  War. 
Differences  in  occupations  are  largely  based  on  variations 
in  physical  conditions  ;  conflicting  interests  may  thus 
arise  that  show  their  influence  on  legislation.  The  dis- 
tribution of  relief  forms  and  waterways  may  determine 
the  direction  of  trade  and  the  movement  of  armies.  The 
Hudson  River  and  Lake  Champlain  region  determined  the 
direction  and  plan  of  more  than  one  campaign  in  both  the 
Inter-colonial  and  the  Revolutionary  wars.  The  same 
thing  is  true  in  a  greater  degree,  of  the  rivers  Mississippi, 
Ohio,  Potomac,  and  James,  in  our  Civil  War.  It  is  clear 
from  these  facts  that  the  relation  of  place,  like  that  of  time, 
is  a  key  to  knowledge  under  higher  relations.  But  if  the 
place  of  an  event,  including  its  surroundings,  cannot  be 
seen  as  an  active  agent  transforming  ideas  and  producing 
events* — cannot  aid  therefore  in  the  process  of  interpre- 
tation—  then  its  historical  value  is  very  small  indeed. 
The  bald  location  on  the  map  of  all  the  places  named  in 
the  text  is  almost  useless  work.  The  danger  is  that  the 
pupil  carries  away  in  memory  a  certain  number  of  dots 
located  on  certain  parts  of  his  map  ;  in  other  words,  he 
locates  portions  of  the  map  instead  of  events  in  their  real 
geographical  relations.  This  gives  the  imagination  no 
aid  in  picturing  the  physical  surroundings  of  things,  and 
has  very  little  historical  value.  The  map  is  a  means  in 
history,  whether  it  is  furnished  by  the  book  or  made  by 
the  pupil.  The  historical  map  may  be  made  by  the  stu- 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  73 

dent,  if  in  the  making  he  gains  something  of  historical 
value.  It  should  be  accurate,  rather  than  beautiful;  the 
end  is  an  historical  idea  and  not  an  aesthetic  emotion. 

There  must  be  a  great  economy  in  time  and  energy  when 
the  teacher  has  decided  in  advance  which  is  the  most  im- 
portant period,  which  is  the  most  important  series  of  events 
in  the  period,  and  which  is  the  most  important  event  in 
the  series.  Not  only  is  there  great  economy  in  time  and 
energy,  but  what  an  immeasurable  difference  between  the 
student's  conception  of  the  subject  itself  under  this  plan, 
and  his  hazy  and  bewildered  state  of  mind  under  the  old 
plan  of  "  going  it  blind  "  !  The  result  of  testing  periods, 
parts  of  periods,  and  events  in  this  way  will  lead  to  the 
discovery  of  a  number  of  things  : 

1.  That  the  value  of  a  period  or  other  series  of  events 
is  not  determined  by  the  length  of  time  covered. 

2.  That  some  events  and  series  are  of  such  a  character 
and  the  manner  of  treatment  by  certain  authors  is  such 
that  a  single  reading  is  all  they  merit ;  they  may  be  put 
in  to  fill  out  the  picture  or  to  make  the  connection  between 
more  important  events. 

3.  That  a  single  fact  may  be  so  close  to  the  people's  life 
that  a  series  of  lessons  may  be  spent  on  it. 

4.  That  this  distribution  of  time  and  effort  will  break  up 
the  uniform  and  featureless  whole  given  by  the  simple  proc- 
ess of  interpretation,  and  will  create  a  body  of  knowledge 
full  of  variety,  each  fact  occupying  the  rank  determined  by 
its  own  value. 


74  GENERAL   NATURE   OF   HISTORY. 

EDUCATIONAL  VALUE  OF  COORDINATION. 

We  now  come  to  the  pedagogical  significance  of  the  pro- 
cess of  judging  relative  values.  It  has  already  been  stated 
that  there  are  at  least  two  phases  to  this  question  :  one  of 
knowledge  and  the  other  of  discipline.  There  is  possibly 
another  phase  by  inference  from  these  two,  namely,  what 
must  be  done  by  the  teacher  in  the  light  of  the  answer  to 
the  other  two.  This  has  been  partly  discussed  above. 

Effect  as  to  Knowledge.  —  It  has  already  been  made  clear 
that,  for  complete  organization,  the  material  given  in  inter- 
pretation must  then  be  coordinated  and  subordinated,— 
that  is,  arranged  in  a  system  on  the  basis  of  its  historical 
significance.  This  result  removes  the  great  body  of  histori- 
cal facts  another  step  from  chaos,  the  first  being  unity  and 
diversity  through  interpretation  ;  now,  they  are  made  to 
assume  rank  in  the  subject  in  light  of  the  place  they  hold 
in  the  life  of  a  people.  In  most  subjects  the  parts  and 
particular  facts  have  a  place  and  rank  that  is  fairly  well 
recognized.  Not  so  in  history.  While  it  may  never  be 
possible  to  rank  the  facts  of  history  as  perfectly  as  those  of 
many  other  subjects,  yet  the  loose  and  reckless  manner  in 
which  they  are  handled  by  teachers  shows  that  a  reasonable 
attempt  ought  to  be  made  in  this  direction.  Perhaps  not 
much  effort  in  ranking  the  facts  of  history  has  been  made 
because  of  the  nature  of  the  facts ;  but  mainly,  however, 
it  is  because  no  coordinating  and  subordinating  principle 
has  been  generally  accepted.  Why  has  no  principle  been 
generally  accepted  ?  Chiefly,  I  think,  because  students 


PROCESSES   IN   ORGANIZING   HISTORY.  75 

have  not  clearly  differentiated  between  the  form  and  the 
content  of  history. 

There  is  another  way  in  which  this  process  affects  the 
student's  knowledge,  that  is,  by  adding  to 'it.  When  the 
conclusion  is  reached  that  the  battle  of  Lexington  is  a  more 
important  event  than  the  storming  of  Stony  Point  —  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  military  events  of  the  Revolutionary 
War  —  the  student  has  added  to  his  stock  a  fact  more 
valuable  than  if  he  had  added  a  dozen  mere  incidents  con- 
nected with  these  events.  Many  pupils  in  the  public 
schools  and  students  in  higher  institutions  can  state  inter- 
esting things  connected  with  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  and 
Florida;  but,  knowing  little  about  their  relative  impor- 
tance, cannot  explain  which  produced  the  greater  effect 
upon  the  dominant  movement  of  that  period.  Would  it 
not  really  be  adding  to  their  knowledge  of  history  to  dis- 
cover which  produced  the  greater  result  upon  the  life  and 
the  thought  of  the  time  ? 

Confers  Power  to  properly  Judge  Contemporaneous 
Events.  —  On  the  side  of  discipline  a  far  greater  result  is 
produced  by  training  in  the  ranking  of  men  and  events.  We 
have  seen  how  interpretation  gives  ability  and  skill  in  get- 
ting into  the  content  of  contemporaneous  events.  Now, 
experience  in  determining  the  relative  rank  of  past  events 
ought  to  confer  the  power  and  skill  to  estimate  similar 
present  facts  at  their  true  value.  It  is  not  an  easy  thing 
to  estimate  present  movements  at  their  true  value,  and  few 
there  are  who  do  not  need  more  of  this  sort  of  ability, — 
few  who  do  not  make  grave  mistakes  for  lack  of  power  to 


76  GENERAL   NATURE   OP  HISTORY. 

balance  men  and  their  conduct,  parties  and  their  policies, 
institutions  and  their  ends  and  tendencies.  People  are 
influenced  by  new  movements  because  they  are  new; 
some  become  absorbed  in  a  small,  quiet  movement  with  a 
great  principle  behind  it,  while  others  are  caught  by  great 
noisy  commotions  with  little  or  nothing  of  principle. 
Others  allow  a  single  idea  to  fill  their  attention  and  absorb 
their  energy  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  ideas,  until  they 
come  to  see  it  out  of  its  true  proportion.  All  other  ideas 
and  movements  come  to  such  men  through  the  wrong  end 
of  the  telescope.  It  would  seem,  therefore,  that  the  power 
cultivated  by  the  process  of  coordinating  and  subordinating 
the  facts  of  history  —  balancing  events,  men,  and  motives 
—  is  of  great  practical  value  in  the  contest  of  life. 


ORGANIZATION  OF 

THE  PERIODS   OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY. 

•  IKl- 

PERIOD  OF  THE  GROWTH  OF  LOCAL  INSTITUTIONS. 


THE  RELATION  OF  DISCOVERIES  AND  EXPLORATIONS 
TO  THIS  PERIOD. 

Not  a  Coordinate  Phase  of  Institutional  Life.  —  The 

separation  of  our  history  into  the  great  phases  given  above 
does  not  include  as  one  of  its  parts  the  discoveries  and 
explorations  that  opened  up  America  to  Europe.  A  divi- 
sion made  by  searching  for  differences  in  the  growth  of 
institutional  ideas  cannot  recognize  these  events  as  con- 
stituting one  of  its  organic  parts.  They  do  not  mark  a 
movement  in  the  thought  of  our  people,  for  the  ideas  that 
called  these  events  into  being  were  European  and  hence 
belong  primarily  to  the  domain  of  general  history,  or  to 
the  history  of  their  respective  nations.  If  the  separation 
into  parts  be  made  to  rest,  as  is  customary,  on  differences 
in  events,  then  discoveries  and  explorations  would  consti- 
tute one  of  the  main  periods  in  American  history.  It  does 
not  follow,  however,  that,  with  the  fundamental  basis  devel- 
oped in  the  preceding  discussions,  there  is  no  place  for  these 
events  in  our  history.  On  the  contrary,  their  rank  in  the 
subject  is  determined  by  the  same  method  that  fixes  the 


78  ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

rank  of  any  other  series  of  events.  If  they  touch  the  devel- 
opment of  American  institutions  in  any  appreciable  way, 
then  they  have  some  rank,  but  what  particular  rank  must 
be  determined  by  the  amount  and  kind  of  this  connection. 

Their  True  Connection  and  Rank.  —  In  general  it  may 
be  said  that  the  discoveries  and  explorations  of  the  dif- 
ferent European  nations  tended  to  fix  the  place  where 
each  planted  its  institutions  in  America.  The  place  where 
ideas  and  institutions  grow  influences  their  development. 
Climate  touches  human  life  in  many  ways,  determining 
animal  and  plant  life,  affecting  the  production  of  food, 
clothing,  and  shelter,  and  influencing  population  and  social 
customs.  The  presence  or  absence  of  a  fertile  soil,  rich 
mineral  deposits,  and  navigable  lakes  and  rivers  gives  bent 
to  industrial  life,  and  through  this  reaches  into  the  domain 
of  politics.  For  these  reasons  the  student  must  take  some 
account  of  the  place  where  a  new  France,  a  new  Spain,  and 
a  new  England  are  to  grow  and  do  battle  for  existence. 

For  another  reason  the  place  of  discoveries  and  explora- 
tions must  be  noted :  the  claims  to  ownership  of  soil  were 
based  upon  these  events,  and  out  of  overlapping  claims 
came  much  of  colonial  history  that  shaped  the  course  of 
future  events.  Our  organizing  principle  makes  us  say, 
then,  that  the  process  of  interpretation  for  a  voyage  of  dis- 
covery and  exploration  consists  in  showing  how  it  tended 
to  fix  a  place  for  the  growth  of  a  group  of  institutions. 
This  same  principle  makes  it  clear  that  the  expedition 
having  most  to  do  in  fixing  or  extending  this  region  is  the 
most  important  one  in  the  series  belonging  to  a  given 


GKOWTH    OF    LOCAL   INSTITUTIONS.  79 

nation.  To  put  it  in  another  way,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
teacher,  in  order  to  direct  his  pupils  intelligently,  must 
know  two  things  about  each  event  in  such  series  :  (1)  what 
the  event  contributed  to  the  claims  of  the  nation  sending 
out  the  expedition ;  (2)  how  the  work  of  this  expedition 
compares  with  that  accomplished  by  others. 

In  settling  these  points,  no  doubt  questions  like  the  fol- 
lowing will  arise  in  the  teacher's  mind :  Shall  the  student  be 
permitted  to  learn  only  the  bare  facts  about  the  voyage  of 
Ponce  de  Leon  ?  Our  organizing  principle  does  not  exclude 
any  knowledge  of  this  voyage  that  enables  one  to  under- 
stand how  it  tended  to  confirm  or  extend  Spanish  claims. 
But  whether  the  Fountain  of  Youth  ought  to  be  studied  in 
connection  with  this  voyage  is  determined  by  its  bearing 
on  the  confirmation  or  extension  of  Spanish  claims.1 

What  ought  to  be  done  with  the  great  expedition  of  De 
Soto  ?  The  organizing  idea  of  history  forces  each  teacher 
to  ask  this  question :  Did  De  Soto's  expedition  touch 
directly  or  indirectly  the  growth  of  our  institutions  ?  The 
answer  is  that  it  did  so,  very  remotely,  by  confirming  and 
extending  Spanish  claims  to  territory  in  North  America. 
Very  well,  then,  our  principle  directs  us  to  study  this 
expedition  until  the  extent  of  De  Soto's  contribution  is 
determined.  But  what  about  De  Soto's  wife  left  as  Gov- 
ernor of  Cuba,  the  number  of  vessels  in  his  fleet,  the  number 

1  The  pupil's  interest  in  this  beautiful  legend  may  be  an  argument 
for  its  study  at  some  time,  but  this  interest  offers  no  argument  for  its 
finding  a  place  in  the  study  of  Spanish  claims :  it  must  stand  or  fall 
by  the  test  applied  to  all  events. 


80  ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

of  mail-clad  knights,  of  priests,  of  horses  and  hogs  on  board, 
the  number  of  Indian  fights  and  the  results  of  each  ?  Must 
the  student  learn  and  recite  all  these  ?  They  are  all  down 
in  some  of  the  books  and  serve  to  keep  the  class  interested. 
It  all  depends  on  the  relation  of  these  incidents  to  Spanish 
claims  to  territory  in  North  America.  If  they  bear  on  the 
solution  of  this  problem ;  if  they  aid  the  pupil  to  see  more 
clearly  what  this  expedition  did  for  Spain,  then  they  must 
be  noticed  —  it  may  be,  only  noticed.  The  same  principle 
will  apply  to  the  voyages  of  other  nations  that  planted 
institutions  in  North  America. 

From  the  nature  of  the  case,  English  explorations  have 
a  closer  connection  with  our  history  than  those  of  other 
nations.  Our  institutions  have  grown  out  of  English  ideas, 
in  the  main,  and  in  the  place  which  English  voyages  pre- 
pared for  them.  For  this  reason,  though  comparatively 
fewer  in  number,  they  should  be  studied  with  more  care 
than  the  voyages  of  other  nations.  There  seems  to  be  an 
exception  in  the  case  of  the  first  voyage  of  Columbus.  His 
first  voyage,  historically  speaking,  was  a  world-voyage 
having  much  significance  for  other  nations  as  well  as 
for  Spain.  Hence,  it  must  occupy  high  rank  in  this  pre- 
liminary part  of  our  history. 

From  the  fact  that  the  discoveries  and  explorations, 
taken  as  a  whole,  have,  comparatively,  only  a  small  influ- 
ence on  the  growth  of  our  institutions,  they  cannot  be 
erected  into  a  coordinate  part  of  the  history  of  the  United 
States  ;  but  because  of  their  immediate  relation  to  the 
localization  and  planting  of  European  ideas  in  America, 


GROWTH   OF   LOCAL   INSTITUTIONS.  81 

they  of  right  constitute  an  introduction  to  the  period  that 
deals  with  the  transformation  of  European  ideas  into 
colonial  institutions. 

Non- American  History.  —  Attention  has  been  called  to 
the  fact  that  not  all  the  voyages  to  America  belong  in  the 
category  of  American  history.  In  fact,  much  time  may 
be  easily  wasted  in  a  study  of  events  that  are  really  no 
part  of  American  history  unless  one  takes  a  very  mechan- 
ical view  of  history,  and  holds  that  all  events  occurring 
in  America  form  a  part  of  its  history.  This  would  make 
the  history  of  the  North  American  Indians  a  part  of  Amer- 
ican history,  but  certainly  no  one  will  say  that  in  any  truly 
historical  sense  did  Indian  institutions  flow  into  or  become 
a  part  of  American  institutions.  And  yet  it  is  no  uncom- 
mon thing  for  a  teacher  to  be  found  earnestly  at  work 
teaching  the  history  of  the  North  American  Indian  with- 
out any  conception  of  the  proper  limit  of  such  study.  The 
same  is  true  of  Mound-builders  and  the  theories  of  their 
origin  and  modes  of  life.  Nor  do  the  ordinary  texts  give 
much  guidance.  None  will  deny  the  deep  interest  that 
attaches  to  these  subjects,  but  the  charm  of  interest  cannot 
be  the  basis  for  passing  judgment  upon  their  position  as 
facts  in  American  history.  There  is  but  one  test,  the  rela- 
tion which  they  sustain  to  the  growth  of  American  institu- 
tions. The  extent  to  which  they  influenced  our  history  is 
the  true  measure  of  their  value.  When  any  fact  is  taught 
about  explorations,  Indians,  or  Mound-builders,  which  has 
no  connection  with  our  institutional  life,  such  a  fact  is  in 
the  field  of  non- American  history. 


82  ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

THE  PERIOD  AS  A  WHOLE. 

What  Constitutes  a  Period.  —  It  has  just  been  shown 
that  a  series  of  events,  discoveries,  and  explorations  does 
not  constitute  a  period.  What  does  constitute  one  may  be 
inferred  partly  from  preceding  discussions,  but  something 
more  definite  is  now  needed.  The  period  or  epoch  is  the 
largest  and  most  complex  historical  division.  Fundamen- 
tally, it  is  one  of  the  coordinate  phases  of  institutional 
growth  which  unite  to  make  up  the  totality  of  a  people's 
life.  A  period  exists  by  virtue  of  the  fact  that  a  great 
movement  in  the  life  of  the  people  dominates  events  for  a 
given  time.  This  epochal  movement  sets  off  its  own  time 
and  events  from  those  which  precede  and  those  which 
succeed  it ;  it  is,  therefore,  a  differentiating  idea.  Were 
it  not  so,  periods  would  be,  in  relation  to  each  other,  mere 
artificial  inventions  depending  upon,  and  varying  with,  the 
whim  of  the  writer  or  teacher.  Not  only  does  the  domi- 
nant movement  do  this,  but  it  also  forms  the  common 
content  of  the  facts  of  its  own  period,  and  thus  performs 
the  function  of  integration.  Fundamentally,  an  event 
without  this  common  content  does  not  belong  to  the  period, 
even  if  it  occurs  within  the  usual  chronological  limits  of 
that  period.  On  account  of  the  loose  thinking  usually 
done  in  history,  such  a  statement  may  seem  entirely 
erroneous.  It  is  only  in  history  that  groups  and  classes 
of  entirely  dissimilar  facts  are  permitted. 

Nature  of  this  Period.  —  We  have  found  already  that  the 
stream  of  American  institutional  life  exhibits  three  great 


GROWTH   OF   LOCAL   INSTITUTIONS.  83 

and  striking  phases,  and  that  the  first  of  these  is  marked 
by  being  mainly  concerned  with  the  rise  and  growth  of 
local  institutions.  From  the  manner  of  settlement  the 
ideas  and  customs  out  of  which  these  institutions  grew 
were  planted  in  groups  more  or  less  isolated,  and  through- 
out the  period  there  was  little  inter-communication.  The 
physical  barriers  to  this  were  very  great.  The  distance 
between  settlements  was  immense,  especially  if  measured 
by  our  present  standards.  Rivers,  mountains,  dense  for- 
ests, savage  beasts,  and  more  savage  men  were  almost 
insuperable  obstacles  to  cooperation,  even  if  the  disposition 
had  existed.  To  this  must  be  added  the  very  slow  means  of 
travel  which  in  those  days  separated  colonial  capitals  by 
thousands  of  miles,  as  we  estimate  travel.  In  the  early 
part  of  the  period,  little  conscious  need  of  communication 
between  governments  arose  except  in  New  England.  Direct 
official  connection  with  England  tended  to  prevent  commu- 
nication among  the  colonies  on  political  matters.  For  the 
most  part,  politics  was  entirely  a  matter  of  local  concern. 
Therefore  this  is  the  period  when  the  forms  and  functions 
of  local  self-government  had  full  and  free  development, 
when  the  government  of  the  American  town  and  township, 
county  and  state  had  their  genesis.  The  same  tendency 
prevailed  in  religious  affairs,  each  colony  following  the  dic- 
tation of  local  considerations.  In  fact,  religious  differences 
emphasized  the  isolation  of  colonial  institutions,  for  the 
spirit  of  persecution  was  not  entirely  absent.  Similarly, 
each  colony  followed  its  own  ideas  and  prejudices  in  matters 
of  education  and  social  life. 


84  OBGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

Perhaps  commerce  was  the  only  thread  that  bound  the 
colonies  together,  with  the  feeling  that,  independently  of 
all  external  dangers,  each  produced  something  which  the 
other  wanted.  In  addition,  it  may  be  noticed  that  the 
people  felt  the  tie  of  race,  especially  when  thinking  of 
themselves  in  relation  to  Spaniards,  Frenchmen,  and 
Indians.  But  this  feeling  came  only  in  times  of  external 
danger.  Whatever  germs  of  connection  and  union  may 
have  existed  in  this  period  were  overshadowed  by  the  facts 
and  conditions  of  institutional  isolation.  Preeminently, 
then,  it  was  an  age  for  the  development  of  local  interests 
and  institutions ;  and  we  may  safely  conclude  that  the 
origin  and  development  of  such  ideas  and  institiitions  is 
the  organizing  idea  of  this  period. 

The  Organizing  Idea  at  Work.  —  It  has  already  been 
explained  as  an  important  principle  of  organization  that 
the  differentiating  and  the  integrating  idea  must  be  iden- 
tical ;  that  is,  the  idea  which  separates  this  period  from  the 
other  parts  of  our  history  must  be  the  idea  that  unites 
all  the  parts  of  this  period  into  a  whole.  This  we  have 
already  found  to  be  the  growth  of  local  institutions,  mainly 
out  of  European  ideas  and  customs.  It  is  this  idea,  seen 
as  the  content  of  the  leading  facts  of  the  period,  that  inter- 
prets and  integrates  them,  that  puts  meaning  into  them 
and  joins  them  as  a  whole.  It  is  this  same  idea  that 
furnishes  the  standard  for  determining  the  relative  value 
of  the  events  of  the  period,  thus  giving  them  coordination 
and  subordination  as  parts  in  an  organic  whole.  To  illus- 
trate, we  may  say  that  the  work  of  John  Smith  and  Roger 


GROWTH   OF   LOCAL    INSTITUTIONS.  85 

Williams  has  the  historic  content  common  to  all  the  events 
of  this  period ;  that  each  contributed  to  the  growth  of  one 
of  the  groups  of  institutions.  This  identity  of  significance 
makes  them  a  real  part  of  the  period.  But  how  their  work 
ranks  in  the  period  and  with  reference  to  each  other 
depends  entirely  upon  the  relative  amount  and  kind  of 
each  man's  contribution. 

Phases  of  the  Period.  —  The  content  which  the  organiz- 
ing idea  of  this  period  as  a  whole  puts  into  its  facts  is 
too  general  to  be  alone  sufficient  for  detailed  work.  It  is 
necessary,  therefore,  to  subdivide  the  period  and  search 
for  more  specific  and  concrete  organizing  ideas.  It  must 
be  ever  in  mind  that  the  real  parts  of  a  period  are  to  be 
found  by  looking  for  differences  in  its  organizing  idea  — 
differences,  in  this  instance,  in  the  growth  of  local  insti- 
tutional ideas.  A  careful  and  discriminating  study  of  life 
in  this  time  will  reveal  three  forms  pretty  well  differen- 
tiated. They  do  not,  however,  result  from  progressive 
evolution,  but  are,  rather,  three  parallel  streams  of  institu- 
tional ideas  that  run  throughout  the  entire  period.  It  is 
discovered  that  these  differences  coincide  in  the  main  with 
the  familiar  geographical  regions  of  colonial  tifnes.  It 
may  be  stated,  then,  that  in  New  England  there  was  a 
movement  toward  a  general  diffusion  of  rights  and  privi- 
leges, while  in  the  southern  group  the  predominance  of 
growth  was  in  the  opposite  direction,  toward  the  central- 
ization of  rights  and  privileges.  In  the  middle  group 
there  was  a  partial  blending  of  the  two  movements. 


86  ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 


THE  DIFFUSION  OF  EIGHTS  AND  PRIVILEGES. 

Why  the  New  Differentiation  is  Made. — These  differ- 
ences in  the  growth  of  local  institutions  are  not  discovered 
for  their  own  sake  merely,  but  that  they  may  serve  the  mind 
further  in  the  process  of  organization.  It  is  to  this  end 
that  all  separations  —  analyses  —  are  made  in  any  science, 
for  it  is  only  by  this  process  that  deeper  and  more  perfect 
integrations  —  syntheses  —  are  possible.  Analysis,  alone, 
may  annihilate  a  subject,  reducing  it  to  mere  isolated  frag- 
ments. Isolation  is  death.  To  avoid  this,  and  to  attain 
the  highest  result  as  to  discipline  and  knowledge,  the  act 
of  synthetic  organization  must  invariably  follow.  In  the 
present  case  each  phase  of  local  colonial  life  must  be 
organized  under  a  new  and  more  concrete  principle.  What 
this  new  idea  is  was  fcmnd  when  the  period  was  divided 
into  its  three  great  phases  of  institutional  life.  If  life  in 
New  England  is  differentiated  from  that  in  other  groups 
by  a  movement  tending  to  the  diffusion  of  rights  and 
privileges,  then  this  same  idea  must  connect  New  England 
life  into  a  whole.  If  diffusion  was  really  the  method  of 
growth  for  New  England,  an  examination  of  its  history 
will  show  events  in  the  main  conforming  to  this  law  ;  the 
most  important  events  relating  to  government,  religion, 
industry,  and  social  life  will  be  seen  to  come  out  of,  and 
pass  into,  this  great  movement  toward  a  fuller  and  freer 
participation  by  the  people  in  the  affairs  of  these  insti- 
tutions. 


GROWTH   OF   LOCAL   INSTITUTIONS.  87 

The  Organizing  Principle  in  the  Concrete. — Let  us  look 
at  some  of  the  leading  facts  of  New  England  history  to  see 
if  they  contain  this  principle.  The  charter  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Bay  colony  gave  twenty-six  persons  almost  unlimited 
power  —  they  could  have  established  an  aristocracy  or 
have  taken  great  strides  toward  a  democracy.  Before 
leaving  England  with  this  charter,  other  persons,  by  vote 
of  its  members,  were  admitted  to  the  rights  and  privileges 
of  the  corporation.  In  1631  suffrage  was  extended  to 
approved  church  members.  New  Haven  was  the  only 
other  colony  in  the  group  that  extended  the  privileges  of 
voting  no  further  than  to  church  members,  while  in  early 
Rhode  Island  the  right  was  exercised  by  all  men.  In  1632 
the  settlers  at  Watertown  refused  to  pay  taxes  levied  by 
the  assistants.  This  led,  in  1634,  to  the  establishment  of 
representative  government  in  Massachusetts  by  giving  the 
towns  the  right  to  elect  the  members  of  that  part  of  the 
General  Court  which  finally  became  the  lower  house  of 
the  colonial  legislature.  In  1635  Massachusetts  made  her 
judiciary  more  popular  by  establishing  local  courts,  whose 
sessions  were  held  in  the  various  towns.  About  this  time 
was  legalized  the  town  meeting,  the  most  democratic  insti- 
tution of  that  age.  In  respect  to  most  of  these  points,  the 
other  members  of  the  group  —  especially  Connecticut  and 
Rhode  Island  —  were  even  more  progressive.  In  1641 
Massachusetts  established  the  famous  Body  of  Liberties,  — 
a  sort  of  Magna  Charta,  as  was  said.  This  document  was 
passed  by  the  General  Court  and  was  submitted  to  the 
towns  of  the  colony,  and  is  remarkable  for  the  advanced 


88  ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

ideas  set  forth  as  to  the  rights  of  individuals.  Connecticut 
and  New  Haven  also  framed  very  liberal  constitutions. 
These  facts  seem  to  indicate  that  this  organizing  principle 
will  hold  for  the  growth  in  political  thought.  The  existence 
of  a  party  in  Massachusetts  in  favor  of  the  ideas  of  Eoger 
Williams  and  Mrs.  Hutchinson  *  proves  a  movement  toward 
differentiation  in  religious  thought,  and  the  fact  that  many 
who  did  not  agree  with  them  did  not  favor  their  banish- 
ment proves  a  tendency  toward  toleration.  This  same 
tendency  was  stronger  at  the  time  the  Quakers  were  pun- 
ished, and  had  much  to  do  in  causing  the  authorities  to 
stop  their  persecution,  and  in  the  witchcraft  delusion  public 
sentiment  opened  the  prisons  and  cheated  the  gallows  of 
some  of  its  victims.  This  sentiment  ultimately  led  Massa- 
chusetts to  make  reparation  to  the  descendants  whose 
ancestors  had  suffered  in  the  persecution  of  the  Quakers 
and  the  so-called  witches.  And  later,  both  Massachusetts 
and  Connecticut  relieved  Quakers  and  Baptists  from  ecclesi- 
astical dues.  In  Khode  Island  there  was  always  more 
generous  religious  fellowship  among  sects  than  in  Massa- 
chusetts. The  Puritan  church  organization  was  thoroughly 
democratic.  The  local  congregation  was  sovereign.  There 
was  no  appeal  from  its  decision.  The  centralization  of 
religious  authority  in  Pope  or  Bishop  was  antagonistic  to 
everything  Puritan.  Many  other  facts  of  New  England's 
religious  life  can  be  adduced  to  demonstrate  that  in  the 
sphere  of  this  institution  there  was  growth  under  this 

1  The  parties  to  these  controversies  were  all  Puritans  —  a  fact  that 
is  generally  overlooked  in  most  of  our  text-books. 


GROWTH   OP   LOCAL   INSTITUTIONS.  89 

great  law.  If  we  turn  to  the  subject  of  education,  there, 
too,  will  be  seen  conformity  to  the  same  dominating 
idea,  for  in  no  other  department  of  the  people's  life  was 
the  law  of  the  diffusion  of  rights  and  privileges  more  per- 
fectly expressed.  The  New  England  public  school  !  That 
of  itself  tells  the  story.  No  other  institution  in  its  day 
did  so  much  to  bring  the  same  opportunity  to  every  man's 
child.  The  founding  of  the  college  and  the  establishment 
of  the  printing-press  were  other  facts  that  point  in  the 
same  direction.  But  what  of  industry  ?  Did  it,  too,  push 
Puritan  life  in  the  same  general  direction  ?  To  begin  with, 
there  was  no  concentration  upon  any  one  occupation.  Soil, 
climate,  mode  of  settling,  the  presence  of  the  sea,  and  the 
great  forest  filled  with  timber  and  animals  —  all  favored 
variety  of  occupation.  This  resulted,  naturally,  in  the 
distribution  rather  than  in  the  concentration  of  wealth  ;  at 
least  it  gave  equal  opportunity  and  a  just  return  for  labor. 
The  Puritan  family  in  England  was  freer  from  the  coloring 
of  aristocracy  than  any  other,  yet,  on  removing  to  America, 
it  brought  many  an  English  custom.  But  the  great  move- 
ments indicated  were  powerful  social  levelers.  Puritan 
legislation  began  to  grow  in  a  new  mold,  and  in  1641  the 
Body  of  Liberties  struck  some  severe  blows  at  the  English 
method  of  transmitting  property. 

The  truth  of  our  organizing  idea  of  New  England  history 
seems  to  be  sufficiently  attested  by  every  great  feature  of 
that  historical  group,  as  far  as  New  England  could  control 
her  own  destiny  ;  and  we  may  safely  take  it  as  the  great 
central  idea  of  this  colonial  group.  It  is  this  idea  that  the 


90  ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

student  must  find  in  the  individual  facts  of  New  England 
history.  In  order  that  the  case  may  be  put  more  concretely, 
let  us  ask  what  the  student  must  search  for  in  the  Roger 
Williams  affair.  In  the  first  place  he  must  see  this  episode 
grow  out  of  the  great  movement  that  has  been  described 
above,  —  must  see  Roger  Williams  and  his  few  friends  as 
representatives  of  a  liberal  movement  in  religious  and 
political  ideas  coming  in  contact  with  the  old  order  of 
things  as  represented  by  the  authorities  of  the  colony.  In 
the  second  place  the  student  must  discover  how  this  con- 
flict promoted  the  movement  toward  diffusion.  In  wading 
through  the  details  of  the  controversy  he  must  look  for  a 
tendency  in  public  sentiment  to  either  accept  the  new  views 
or  to  tolerate  the  presence  of  their  author.  This  conflict 
could  not  leave  Massachusetts  where  it  found  her  —  there 
had  to  be  growth.  No  doubt  this  latter  phase  of  the  event's 
content  is  the  more  difficult  to  discover,  but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  it  is  also  the  more  important  part  of  the 
content  —  more  important  because  without  it  the  degree 
of  progress  cannot  be  measured.1  It  is  the  new  trend 
given  to  thought  and  feeling  that  enables  the  historian  to 
take  note  of  progress.  When  the  leading  facts  of  New 
England's  life  have  been  thus  interpreted  and  we  see  in 
them  essentially  the  same  idea,  the  mind  has  joined  them 

1  It  is  passing  strange  that  most  writers  and  most  students  have 
taken  this  event  to  prove  how  narrow  and  illiberal  Puritanism  really 
was,  and  in  so  doing  have  shut  their  eyes  to  the  greater  fact  that  it 
demonstrated  its  recuperative  or  progressive  power  as  much  as  its 
conservatism. 


GROWTH   OF   LOCAL   INSTITUTIONS.  91 

into  an  intelligible  whole  due  to  the  inherent  force  of  a 
great  dominant  idea.  And  when  each  fact  is  measured  as 
to  the  extent  and  degree  of  this  content,  we  may  say  that 
each  fact  has  taken  its  appropriate  rank  in  the  whole  — 
that  each  is  seen  in  its  true  historical  perspective. 

Principle  Governing  the  Conduct  of  New  England  toward 
English  Authority.  —  The  events  organized  above  belong 
to  the  internal  development  of  New  England.  There  are 
other  events  growing  immediately  out  of  the  relations 
between  the  colonies  and  the  mother  country.  In  what- 
ever form  the  conflict  of  authority  between  them  expressed 
itself,  the  New  England  colonists  were  determined  to  pre- 
serve and  increase  their  rights  and  privileges.  It  was  a 
principle  of  action,  always  more  or  less  consciously  guid- 
ing them  to  exercise  as  much  power  as  possible  and  to 
resist  all  encroachments  upon  it.  This  is  clearly  seen  in 
the  first  great  controversy  between  1634  and  1636,  when, 
on  account  of  charges  against  the  colony,  Massachusetts 
was  ordered  by  an  English  court  to  surrender  its  charter. 
The  Governor  and  Council  refused  to  make  answer,  while 
the  ministers  of  the  colony  resolved  that  "  we  ought  to 
defend  our  lawful  possessions."  The  General  Court,  or 
colonial  legislature,  ordered  that  new  forts  be  erected,  and 
that  the  people  be  trained  in  the  use  of  arms.  The  danger 
was  averted  by  the  crisis  in  England,  and  did  not  return 
till  1646,  when  the  Long  Parliament  held  sway.  This  body 
claimed  the  right  to  reverse  the  decisions  of  the  colonial 
legislature,  and  also  to  give  to  Massachusetts  a  new  charter. 
Both  of  these  claims  were  viewed  as  aggressions  by  the 


92  OKGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

colony,  and  were  so  strongly  opposed  that  parliament  did 
not  push  matters  to  a  crisis.  Soon  after  the  Restoration 
Charles  II.  sent  orders  to  Massachusetts  to  remove  the  reli- 
gious qualifications  for  suffrage,  permit  the  English  Church 
to  hold  meetings,  and  to  have  all  legal  documents  run  in 
the  king's  name.  There  was  so  much  opposition  to  these 
changes,  and  some  were  made  so  reluctantly,  while  others 
were  not  made  at  all,  that  royal  commissioners  were  sent 
over  in  1664.  News  of  their  coming  having  reached  Boston, 
the  colonial  authorities  ordered  a  fast,  a  committee  was 
given  charge  of  the  charter,  the  trainbands  were  authorized 
to  practice,  and  other  military  preparations  were  made.  The 
opposition  to  the  work  of  the  commissioners  prevented  any 
encroachments  upon  chartered  rights.  In  the  battle  of  the 
New  England  colonies  for  their  charters,  and  in  their  tem- 
porary defeat  in  the  days  of  Andros,  the  same  principle  of 
action  controlled  the  people  and  their  authorities.  Their 
fidelity  to  it  is  exhibited  in  the  overthrow  of  the  authority 
of  Andros  and  the  rapid  return  to  their  former  governments. 
In  all  conflicts  of  crown  officials  with  the  people  between 
1700  and  1750,  the  colonists  of  New  England  were  true  to 
the  principle  announced  above. 

Therefore,  for  the  series  of  events  growing  out  of  the 
relations  between  New  England  and  the  mother  country, 
the  determination  of  the  colonists  to  preserve,  and,  if 
possible,  increase  their  rights  and  privileges,  becomes  the 
organizing  idea.  The  teacher  will  note  that  this  idea  and 
motive  will  be  found  as  content  in  all  the  events  entering 
into  the  series,  and  also  that  this  series  as  a  whole  organizes 


GROWTH   OF   LOCAL   INSTITUTIONS.  93 

into  proper  relations,  with  the  series  of  events  embodying 
the  diffusion  of  rights  and  opportunities.  This  latter  we 
have  seen  to  be  the  principle  of  their  domestic  develop- 
ment, and  it  was  for  the  preservation  of  this  internal  life 
that  the  fierce  opposition  to  England's  encroachments  was 
made. 

CENTRALIZATION  OF  EIGHTS  AND  OPPORTUNITIES. 

Nature  of  this  Organizing  Idea.  —  The  above  heading  is 
taken  as  a  statement  of  the  most  fundamental  movement 
common  to  the  institutions  of  the  southern  group  of 
colonies.  An  attempt  to  organize  the  facts  of  southern 
colonial  history  around  this  idea  will  be  found  more  diffi- 
cult than  the  organization  of  New  England  history  around 
the  opposite  principle.  This  difficulty  grows  out  of  the 
fact  that  the  political  life  of  the  southern  group  was  more 
frequently  interrupted  by  conflicts  of  the  people  with  the 
officials  of  the  crown  or  with  proprietors,  and  hence  its 
political  development  was  not  left  as  undisturbed,  and  was 
not1  allowed  to  follow  its  natural  tendency  as  completely 
as  in  New  England.  A  practical  difficulty  also  confronts 
the  teacher  or  student  who  searches  for  events  and  facts 
bearing  on  the  internal  history  of  the  group ;  for  while  most 
of  our  historians  have  been  diligent  in  giving  us  pictures 
of  the  political  collisions 1  mentioned  above,  they  have  not 

1  There  is  no  doubt  of  the  historical  significance  of  these  conflicts, 
for  they  tended  to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of  opposition  to  encroachments 
on  the  rights  of  the  colonies,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  they 
constitute  only  one  phase  of  one  portion  of  the  people's  life. 


94  ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

described  very  fully  the  events  that  attended  the  gradual 
absorption  of  power  and  influence  by  the  slaveholders.  This 
movement,  by  which  political,  social,  cultural,  and  industrial 
opportunities  were  practically  concentrated  in  the  hands  of 
the  planters,  was  in  the  main  a  silent  process.  It  went 
on,  generation  after  generation,  without  obtruding  itself 
upon  the  consciousness  of  the  colonists ;  but  it  was  none 
the  less  fundamental  and  permanent  in  its  character. 

General  Causes  of  the  Movement.  —  The  soil  of  the 
southern  colonies  was  exceedingly  fertile,  thus  making 
agriculture  so  easy  and  remunerative  that  it  practically 
became  their  one  great  occupation.  No  other  occupation 
in  this  section  could  compete  with  it,  and  thus  the  oppor- 
tunity for  variety  of  labor  was  greatly  limited.  Besides, 
the  warm  climate  made  possible  the  production  of  certain 
plants,  like  tobacco,  rice,  cotton,  and  indigo.  From  the 
nature  of  these  plants  and  their  physical  environment,  the 
cultivation  of  them  was  simple ;  it  could  be  performed  by 
unskilled  labor.  These  conditions  made  slave  labor  pos- 
sible, and  the  great  heat  of  the  section  made  it  seem 
desirable.  The  employment  of  the  slave  soon  taught  the 
planters  that  an  increase  in  profit  was  to  be  gained  by 
increasing  the  number  of  slaves.  The  result  of  this  was  an 
increase  in  the  size  of  the  plantation  to  give  room  for  more 
slaves.  The  tendency  of  family  pride  was  also  in  the  direc- 
tion of  more  slaves  and  more  acres.  The  planters  therefore 
absorbed  the  most  desirable  of  the  agricultural  lands. 

Economical  Aspects  of  the  Movement.  —  The  first  form 
of  slavery  was  not  negro  slavery,  but  it  was  a  system  of 


GROWTH   OF   LOCAL   INSTITUTIONS.  95 

indentured  service,  by  means  of  which  the  planters  obtained 
white  laborers  for  a  term  of  years  by  paying  their  passage 
to  America,  or  by  buying  their  labor  from  companies  who 
made  a  business  of  bringing  over  vagabonds  and  criminals. 
After  his  term  of  service  the  indentured  laborer  was  turned 
loose  —  ignorant,  poor,  and  often  vicious  —  to  shift  for 
himself.  These  people  furnished  the  beginnings  of  that 
class  which,  later,  was  the  product  of  negro  slavery  —  the 
poor  whites.  To  the  indentured  servant  after  his  contract 
expired,  and  to  other  non-slaveholders,  three  things  were 
open :  1.  They  could  be  day-laborers,  the  easiest  and 
most  likely  thing  to  be  done.  This,  too,  was  the  most 
hopeless  thing  that  could  befall  the  poor  whites.  "  In  this 
sphere,  they  came  into  either  direct  or  indirect  competition 
with  the  negro  slave.  Not  only  did  the  presence  of  the 
slave  give  them  less  work  to  do,  but  for  the  part  that 
fell  to  them  the  wages  were  small,  from  the  fact  that  the 
cheaper  form  of  labor  was  always  present.  2.  They  could 
emigrate,  and  thus  remove  themselves  from  the  immediate 
presence  of  slavery.  Those  dissatisfied  could,  and  hun- 
dreds did,  move  out  upon  the  frontier  or  up  into  the 
mountains,  where  lands  were  cheaper.  They  thus  became 
independent  farmers  on  a  small  scale.  The  more  enter- 
prizing  settlers  direct  from  Europe,  not  yet  affected  by  con- 
tact with  slavery,  furnished  by  far  the  greater  number  of 
border  farmers.  But  even  this  more  ambitious  class  felt 
the  unequal  contest  with  slavery.  The  products  of  their 
more  humble  efforts  had  to  go  into  the  same  market  and 
compete  with  the  products  of  the  plantation  —  products 


96  ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

produced  at  the  lowest  possible  cost.  Their  profits  could 
not  be  proportionally  as  high  as  the  planter's,  because  the 
labor  that  produced  their  tobacco  or  other  products  ate  more 
and  better  food,  wore  more  and  better  clothes,  and  required 
better  shelter.  If  the  non-slaveholders  were  still  more 
ambitious,  and  if  their  knowledge  was  equal  to  their  ambi- 
tion, they  frequently  crossed  the  border  into  the  northern 
or  middle  colonies,  where  disastrous  competition  was  least 
felt.  3.  Finally,  it  was  barely  possible,  but  not  probable, 
that  they  might  become  slaveholders  on  a  small  scale. 

There  was  little  opportunity  outside  of  agriculture. 
The  sparseness  of  the  population,  the  absence  of  towns 
and  cities,  and  the  consequent  absence  of  the  variety  in 
occupation  which  gave  encouragement  to  large  numbers 
of  intelligent  and  industrious  laborers  in  the  middle  and 
northern  colonies,  compelled  the  non-slaveholder  to  labor 
in  a  field  already  too  well  occupied.  Slavery  gave  the 
planter  leisure,  but  it  added  to  the  time  the  non-slave- 
holder must  work  if  he  hoped  to  gain  a  competence  or  even 
the  comforts  of  life.  Slavery  gave  wealth  to  the  planter, 
but  denied  it  to  the  non-slaveholder.  The  tendency,  eco- 
nomically, was  to  put  the  wealth  of  the  colony  into  the 
hands  of  planters. 

Social  and  Educational  Effects. — .Closely  allied  with 
the  economic  differences  between  those  two  classes  was 
the  contrast  in  their  social  life.  In  no  other  form  of 
southern  institutional  life  is  the  reign  of  the  principle  of 
growth,  stated  in  the  beginning,  more  strikingly  apparent 
than  in  social  life.  The  gulf  between  the  family  of  the 


GROWTH   OF   LOCAL   INSTITUTIONS.  97 

slaveholder  and  the  family  of  the  non-slaveholder  was 
often  so  wide  as  to  be  impassable.  The  immediate  causes 
of  this  contrast  in  social  standing  are  found  in  the  fact 
that  one  family  had  wealth,  leisure,  and  refinement,  while 
the  other  was  poor  and  had  to  labor,  —  conditions  akin 
to  slavery,  —  and  was  often  marked  by  the  absence  of 
refinement  and  intelligence.  On  one  side  was  family  pride 
and  many  things  to  stimulate  it  —  ancestry,  acres,  and 
slaves  ;  on  the  other  was  a  family  often  lacking  in  every- 
thing which  constitutes  the  basis  of  family  pride,  with 
poverty  often  as  deep  as  that  of  the  slave,  and  even  more 
pitiable,  and  with  ignorance  so  dense  as  to  be  entirely  un- 
conscious. Naturally,  there  could  be  but  little  fellowship 
between  families  so  widely  separated  by  such  social  con- 
trasts. 

In  the  southern  group  there  were  few  public  schools 
such  as  were  known  in  New  England.  In  the  absence  of 
general  and  public  means  of  education  there  was  little 
opportunity  for  the  non-slaveholder  to  educate  his  children. 
He  might  teach  them  the  rudiments  of  learning,  if  per- 
chance he  knew  them  himself.  If  he  was  above  the 
average  non-slaveholder  in  point  of  wealth,  the  parson  or 
some  indigent  scholar  might  be  found  to  tutor  them.  The 
rule  was  that  neither  was  found.  Sometimes  a  substitute 
was  discovered  in  the  person  of  an  indented  servant.  But 
all  these  results  were  only  a  few  drops  in  the  great  ocean 
of  ignorance.  Thus  it  seems  that  the  lack  of  education 
was  a  means  to  perpetuate  the  condition  of  the  non- 
slaveholder.  How  could  he  rise  ?  Where  was  his  leverage  ? 


98  ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

In  contrast  with  this,  the  children  of  the  planter  could 
have  an  education  if  their  desires  ran  in  that  direction. 
Many  of  them  had  private  tutors.  Some  went  to  the 
College  of  William  and  Mary,  others  to  northern  schools, 
while  the  more  wealthy  and  ambitious  went  abroad  for 
their  schooling.  This  disparity  between  the  two  classes 
in  education  had  much  to  do  in  perpetuating  social  and 
other  differences.  In  view  of  this  condition  of  the  two 
classes,  we  may  safely  say  that  the  principle  of  concen- 
tration finds  another  powerful  confirmation. 

How  the  Principle  Worked  in  Politics  and  in  Religion. — 
With  all  these  differences  of  wealth,  family  position,  and 
education,  it  is  not  only  not  a  matter  of  surprise,  but  was 
the  most  natural  and  fitting  thing  that  the  slaveholders 
should  receive  all  the  political  offices.  They  were,  and  it 
was  practically  necessary  that  they  should  be,  the  recipients 
of  political  preferment  at  the  hands  of  the  crown  and  also 
at  the  hands  of  the  people.  No  other  class  in  this  group 
could  furnish  men  who  could  measure  up  to  the  needs  of 
colonial  government  as  closely  as  the  slaveholders.  But 
besides  the  question  of  fitness,  their  social  position,  wealth, 
and  possible  influence  would  have  gained  for  them  political 
recognition.  It  was  not  unnatural,  that  with  political  power 
mainly  in  their  hands  they  should  be  tempted  to  use  it  to 
promote  their  own  interests.  This  was  accomplished  in 
many  ways  ;  but  the  most  effective  was  the  requirement 
of  a  given  land  qualification  for  suffrage,  and  a  larger  one 
for  office-holding.  In  some  instances,  the  tax  on  personal 
property  was  heavier,  in  proportion,  than  that  on  real  estate. 


GROWTH    OF    LOCAL   INSTITUTIONS.  99 

Add  to  these  the  custom  of  the  crown  or  proprietor  of  ap- 
pointing only  persons  of  high  degree  to  places  in  the  upper 
house  of  the  colonial  legislature,  and  we  have  all  the  con- 
ditions for  the  concentration  of  political  power  and  in- 
fluence in  the  hands  of  one  class. 

We  thus  see  that  each  phase  of  institutional  life,  except 
religion,  has  been  tested  in  the  light  of  this  principle  of 
growth  and  has  in  the  main  confirmed  the  position  assumed 
in  the  beginning.  How  about  religious  thought  and  feel- 
ing ?  Do  they  grow  under  the  same  law  ?  So  far  as 
social  and  political  interests  touched  religious  customs  and 
machinery,  the  tendency  was  to  put  their  control  in  the 
hands  of  the  aristocratic  element.  The  English  Church  was 
the  dominant  organization  in  this  group  of  colonies  ;  and 
its  influence  was  not,  generally,  such  as  would  destroy  this 
tendency,  even  if  it  did  not  purposely  strengthen  it.  There 
were,  in  many  cases,  limitations  placed  on  the  exercise 
of  free  religious  opinion,  and  even  when  dissenters  were 
allowed  to  organize  churches  they  labored  under  the  dis- 
advantage of  competing  with  a  church  that  either  was 
supported  directly,  or  was  encouraged  by  the  colonial 
government.  There  is,  therefore,  in  these  limitations  on 
religious  rights  and  privileges  something  akin  to  what  we 
have  witnessed  in  the  other  great  institutions. 

The  peculiarity  of  all  sides  of  life  in  the  southern  col- 
onies, which  we  have  been  studying,  did  not,  as  might  be 
expected,  unfit  the  slaveholders  for  active  and  aggressive 
work  in  the  Revolution.  The  love  of  personal  and  polit- 
ical independence  was  as  strong  as  it  was  in  the  feudal 


100          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY.         » 

lords  that  snatched  English  liberty  from  King  John, 
And  in  the  southern  colonies,  where  the  favors  of  the 
crown  did  not  stifle  it,  this  old  spirit  flared  up  as  quickly 
as  in  the  more  democratic  regions  of  New  England.  The 
slaveholders  formed  the  backbone  of  the  devolution  in  the 
South,  and  did  much  to  marshal  the  non-slaveholders  in 

defence  of  freedom.     There  were  some  features  of  the  war 

\ 

that  were  not  found  in  the  North,  but  the  centralization 
of  power  and  privilege  did  not  seriously  check  its  progress 
in  the  southern  section. 

Conclusion.  —  The  above  discussion  is  historical  rather 
than  pedagogical.  It  has,  however,  this  bearing  on  the  proc- 
ess of  thinking  :  by  it  we  have  demonstrated  the  existence 
of  a  law  of  growth  in  southern  colonial  life,  which  law  is 
to  play  the  part  of  the  "  organizing  idea  "  of  the  history  of 
this  group,  at  least  so  far  as  internal  influences  are  con- 
cerned. This  "  concentration  of  power  and  opportunity  " 
is  the  idea  that  the  student  must  keep  with  him  in  trying 
to  investigate  southern  life  in  this  period.  This  idea  is  to 
illuminate  the  facts  of  every  phase  of  the  people's  life  in 
this  age,  and  these  in  turn  are  to  enrich  and  give  con- 
creteness  to  this  principle  of  historical  development. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  suggest  here  that  in  the  light  of 
the  above  discussion  it  is  entirely  feasible,  and  for  many 
reasons  very  desirable,  that  the  colonies  be  studied  in 
groups  rather  than  as  isolated  colonies.  The  student,  in  his 
first  study,  should,  perhaps,  take  each  one  in  detail,  but  a 
second  going  over  the  subject,  if  only  in  review,  should 
be  devoted  to  laying  emphasis  on  the  features  common  to 


GROWTH   OF   LOCAL   INSTITUTIONS.  101 

the  members  of  the  same  group.  This  should  be  done  for 
the  sake  of  the  knowledge  as  well  as  for  the  reason  that 
time  may  be  saved.  The  knowledge  thus  gained  will  have 
in  it  an  element  not  to  be  had  by  studying  isolated  colonies  ; 
it  will  show  the  student  that  the  great  overshadowing 
features  of  life  in  one  member  were  to  be  found  in  the 
other  members  of  the  same  group.  For  purposes  of  histori- 
cal interpretation  this  will  entirely  suffice.  Why  should 
the  student  be  required  to  wade  through  a  maze  of  dis- 
similar events  only  to  find  the  same  set  of  ideas  ?  The 
value  to  the  student  of  discovering  the  same  idea  in  more 
than  one  set  of  particulars  should  be  fully  recognized,  but 
there  must  be  a  limit  to  this  unless  great  modifications 
are  found  in  the  ideas  as  the  result  of  their  varying 
embodiment.  Such  is  not  the  case  in  the  southern  and 
northern  groups.  It  seems  that  the  principle  of  concrete 
expression  of  ideas  and  customs  would  be  fully  satisfied  by 
selecting  a  representative  colony  of  each  group,  say,  Massa- 
chusetts for  the  northern,  Virginia  for  the  southern,  and 
Pennsylvania  for  the  middle  group. 

The  Principle  Governing  the  Attitude  of  the  Southern 

Colonists  toward  English  Authority As  stated  at  the 

opening  of  the  discussion  on  the  law  governing  the  internal 
development  of  southern  institutions,  historians  have  given 
much  time  to  the  events  touching  the  relations  between 
the  colonial  and  the  home  governments.  The  cause  pro- 
ducing these  events  is  the  frequent  action  of  the  mother 
country.  This  action,  though  frequent,  was  not  continuous, 
hence  ordinarily  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  common  and  con- 


102          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

nected  content  for  these  facts.  This  difficulty  is  not 
diminished  by  the  nature  of  the  events  themselves,  for 
they  range  over  the  whole  list  of  possible  occurrences. 
While  this  is  true,  yet  if  we  analyze  these  events  for  the 
attitude  of  the  colonial  mind  toward  the  exercise  of  Eng- 
lish authority  over  them,  we  shall  discover  in  the  southern 
group  the  same  state  of  sentiment  as  was  found  in  New 
England,  - —  a  determination  to  exercise  for  themselves  as 
much  power  as  possible,  and  to  oppose  all  encroachments, 
whether  made  directly  by  king  and  parliament,  or  indi- 
rectly by  the  colonial  governors.  This  attitude  is  found 
in  Virginia,  when  James  I.  took  the  charter  from  the 
London  Company,  when  Charles  I.  made  an  effort  to  get 
control  of  the  tobacco  trade  or  sided  with  Governor  Harvey, 
when  Cromwell  sent  his  war  vessels  and  commissioners, 
and  when  Bacon  defied  the  authority  of  Governor  Berkeley. 
Likewise  in  the  Carolinas,  whether  they  were  contending 
with  proprietors  under  Locke's  Grand  Model,  or  contesting 
the  aggressions  of  colonial  governors  appointed  by  the  king, 
the  same  principle  of  conduct  animated  them.  Because  of 
her  internal  disturbances,  Maryland  presents  fewer  cases 
of  conflict  with  king  and  governors  than  either  Virginia  or 
the  Carolinas  ;  but  where  cases  of  invaded  rights  were  clear, 
the  settlers  of  Maryland  proved  their  right  to  be  regarded 
as  true  Englishmen. 

In  discussing  New  England's  relation  to  English  au- 
thority, we  found  that  the  events  connected  therewith 
grew  out  of  the  people's  efforts  to  maintain  securely  the 
institutional  life  of  the  group,  especially  as  related  to 


GROWTH   OF    LOCAL   INSTITUTIONS.  103 

politics,  religion,  and  commerce.  The  same  relation  exists 
in  the  southern  group  between  these  two  series  of  events. 
The  opposition  here  was  not  for  its  own  sake,  but  for  the 
purpose  of  protecting  the  institutions  of  the  colonies  from 
dangerous  encroachments  which  tended  to  limit  the  parti- 
cipation of  the  people  in  their  functions. 

THE  MIDDLE  COLONIES. 

Internal  Institutional  Growth.  —  The  diversity  of  races, 
of  religious  and  political  institutions  in  this  group  makes 
it  impossible  to  discover  a  dominant  movement  in  colonial 
times  for  the  group  as  a  whole.  Here  we  have  a  popula- 
tion foreshadowing  that  of  our  times.  Here  were  the 
Dutch,  Swedes,  Germans,  Scotch,  Welsh,  Irish,  and  English. 
Each  was  wedded  to  the  ideas  and  institutions  of  his  native 
land,  and  thus  presented  many  barriers  to  the  develop- 
ment of  a  characteristic  tendency  in  internal  affairs. 
New  York  partook,  to  some  extent,  of  the  characteristics 
of  New  England,  especially  late  in  the  colonial  period, 
but  in  its  early  days,  Dutch  influence  was  paramount ;  it 
did  not,  however,  extend  into  other  colonies.  New  Jersey 
and  Delaware  were  much  influenced  by  their  proximity  to 
the  southern  group,  and  the  latter  became  a  slave  state. 
The  conditions  favoring  diversity  in  Pennsylvania  were  so 
great  that  it  had  little  in  common  with  the  other  members 
of  the  group.  Thus  it  appears  that  no  law  of  development 
can  be  found  for  this  group  as  a  whole  unless  it  be  the  law 
of  diversity.  This  makes  the  organization  of  the  history 
of  this  group  as  a  whole  quite  unsatisfactory.  No  doubt 


104        ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

an  analysis  of  the  internal  life  of  each  colony  would  present 
some  idea  to  serve  as  its  organizing  principle,  but  work  so 
detailed  hardly  belongs  to  the  scope  of  the  present  discussion. 

Attitude  of  Middle  Colonies  toward  English  Authority. 
—  While  it  may  be  difficult  to  discover  an  internal  move- 
ment common  to  all  the  members  of  the  middle  group  of 
colonies,  it  is  not  at  all  difficult  to  find  the  common  prin- 
ciple animating  the  people  of  each  colony  with  reference 
to  extension  of  English  authority.  Particularly  is  this 
true  of  the  two  great  members  of  the  group,  —  New  York 
and  Pennsylvania.  Almost  from  the  day  of  their  birth, 
the  people  of  these  two  colonies  were  in  conflict  with  their 
respective  local  authorities,  whose  functions  and  powers 
were  drawn  from  royal  authority.  Sometimes  the  opposi- 
tion was  in  the  minority,  but  it  kept  on  its  struggle.  In 
many  cases  the  victory  was  only  defensive,  and  simply 
held  what  had  been  gained,  but  from  1700  to  the  Revolu- 
tion the  people  became  aggressive  and  won  real  advances 
in  rights  and  opportunities. 

We  thus  discover  that  a  common  principle  of  action 
controlled  the  people  of  all  the  colonies  in  dealing  with 
questions  relating  to  the  extension  of  British  authority  over 
them.  This  gives  us  a  common  interpreting  and  coordinat- 
ing principle  for  all  events  falling  under  this  category.  Of 
course,  with  reference  to  the  future,  the  discovery  of  this 
common  content  is  full  of  significance,  for  it  shows  the 
gradual  divergence  of  English  and  American  political  ideas, 
and  that  the  spirit  of  the  Revolution  was  born  of  a  century 
or  more  of  rough  experience  with  English  officials. 


PERIOD  OF   THE   GROWTH   OF   UNION. 


THE  PERIOD  AS  A  WHOLE. 

The  Transition  from  Isolation  to  Union.  —  The  law  of 
differentiation  operating  in  history  makes  every  age  to 
some  extent  a  period  of  transition.  The  law  of  continuity, 
however,  so  controls  the  movement  of  the  dominant  idea 
that  the  growth  of  this  idea  may  consist  in  merely  passing 
from  one  stage  of  itself  to  another.  But  what  may  be 
termed  transitions  proper  are  changes  marked  either  by  the 
appearance  of  new  ideas  and  sentiments,  or  by  growth  in 
the  old  ideas  to  such  an  extent  that  the  changes  practically 
amount  to  new  movements.  These  transitions  proper  are 
most  marked  on  the  border  lines  between  periods,  and  are 
usually  characterized  by  events  whose  content  partakes  of 
both  the  old  and  the  new  movement. 

The  transition  in  the  present  case  marks  the  passage 
from  the  first  to  the  second  of  the  great  coordinate 
movements  in  our  institutional  life.  If  the  student  is  to 
be  guided  by  the  laws  of  growth  he  must  search  for  the 
germs  of  the  second  period  far  back  in  the  midst  of  the 
first.  In  the  midst  of  isolation  he  must  look  for  some 
signs  of  union.  One  of  these,  the  tie  of  race,  has  already 
been  mentioned.  The  English  colonists  felt  that  they 
were  one  against  Indians,  Spaniards,  and  Frenchmen. 


106          ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

Even  in  the  first  portion  of  the  colonial  era  England  made 
the  Americans  feel  that  her  commercial  interests  and  theirs 
were  not  identical.  The  renewal  and  extension  of  the  navi- 
gation laws  under  Charles  II.,  the  creation  of  the  Boards 
of  Trade  under  William  and  Mary,  the  limitations  on  the 
woolen  trade  in  the  same  reign,  the  passage  of  the  impor- 
tation act  of  1733,  and  many  other  limitations  upon  colonial 
industry,  tended  to  strengthen  the  conviction  that  the  inter- 
ests of  the  colonists  and  those  of  the  mother  country  were 
not  identical,  at  least  in  the  eyes  of  British  merchants  and 
legislators.  Out  of  these  restrictions  and  this  conviction, 
aided  by  the  desire  of  gain,  grew  and  flourished  the 
colonial  smuggling  trade.  American  merchants  and  ship- 
pers troubled  themselves  very  little  about  the  moral  ques- 
tions, and  soon  there  arose  a  loose  sort  of  cooperation  among 
the  smugglers  of  the  various  ports ;  this  was  a  germ  of 
union  that  quickly  developed  into  the  merchant  organiza- 
tions of  the  Revolution.  Another  cause  of  the  colonists 
uniting  in  thought  and  feeling  against  England,  we  have 
already  found  in  the  fact  that,  in  all  their  struggles  with 
governors,  judges,  and  other  royal  officials,  she  stood  against 
the  claims  of  the  people  and  supported  those  of  the 
officials.  While  these  contests  over  authority  did  not  lead 
to  any  form  of  cooperation  in  the  colonial  time,  yet  they  did 
create  a  state  of  mind  which  furnished  a  basis  for  union. 
Another  thread  of  sympathy  and  cooperation  existed  in 
the  first  period,  —  dangers  from  the  French  and  the  Indians. 
These  dangers  were  constant  between  1690  and  1763,  and 
were  common  to  nearly  all  the  colonies.  That  the  English 


THE   GROWTH   OF   UNION.  107 

colonies  so  felt  is  abundantly  proven  by  the  long  line  of 
intercolonial  meetings  covering  this  time,  there  having 
been  more  than  a  dozen  conferences  between  represen- 
tatives of  various  colonies  ;  sometimes  only  the  representa- 
tives of  one  group  were  present,  but  at  one  time. or  another 
all  the  colonies  were  thus  in  friendly  cooperation.  The 
immediate  result  of  these  conferences  was  a  series  of 
cooperative  military  and  naval  expeditions  against  the 
common  enemy.  In  teaching  the  colonies  the  lesson  of 
helpful  and  sympathetic  cooperation  in  military  affairs, 
the  so-called  intercolonial  wars  furnished  the  experience 
out  of  which  a  more  perfect  union  might  arise.  In  still 
another  way,  but  indirectly,  these  wars  and  their  attendant 
intercommunication  prepared  the  way  for  union  by  break- 
ing down  to  some  extent  the  prejudices,  religious  and 
social,  which  various  colonies  entertained,  and  thus  tended 
to  remove  some  of  the  barriers  to  union  erected  in  the 
period  of  isolation.  These  examples  ought  to  be  sufficient 
to  prove  that  even  in  the  period  when  local  interests  and 
institutions  were  dominant,  new  impulses  were  beginning  to 
differentiate  themselves  from  the  prevailing  condition  and 
to  move  forward  to  the  conquest  of  the  future. 

The  Period  Proper.  —  The  real  nature  of  the  thought- 
movement  of  this  period  is  foreshadowed  in  the  lines  of 
growth  already  indicated.  It  is  indeed  a  movement  from 
isolation  to  union.  The  preceding  discussion,  however,  has 
not  pointed  out  the  special  circumstances  under  which  the 
impulse  to  union  gained  so  mighty  an  impetus  that  it 
absorbed  the  energy  of  the  whole  people,  and  thus  made 


108          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

it  the  dominant  movement  of  an  era.  The  intercolonial 
wars  left  England  apparently  almost  hopelessly  in  debt, 
and  even  before  the  close  of  the  last  one  she  began  to 
devise  means  to  raise  a  larger  revenue  in  America.  This 
determination  led  the  custom-house  officials  of  Boston  to 
apply  for  writs  of  assistance  as  a  means  of  breaking  up 
smuggling.  James  Otis  came  to  the  rescue  and  made  his 
great  argument  by  appealing  to  the  English  constitution.1 
The  result  was  regarded  as  a  victory  for  all  the  colonies. 
The  failure  to  enforce  the  old  laws  of  trade  led  to  their 
modification  in  1763.  This  new  law  was  a  sort  of  confis- 
cation act,  because  its  most  striking  feature  provided  that 
the  navy  should  be  used  to  destroy  the  smuggling  trade 
by  confiscation  of  smuggled  goods.  It  stimulated  the 
cupidity  of  the  naval  officers,  the  governors,  the  judges, 
and  the  military  officials  by  allowing  them  to  share  in  the 
confiscations.  Commerce  with  the  West  Indies  was  threat- 
ened with  destruction.  A  storm  of  protests  swept  over  to 
England.  American  commerce  was  greatly  damaged,  but 
England  gained  nothing.  From  now  on,  parliamentary 
legislation  concerning  America  produced  at  each  step  the 
same  results,  —  drove  the  colonies  farther  from  England 
and  closer  to  one  another.  The  Stamp  Act  brought  in  its 
train  colonial  correspondence,  a  congress,  non-importation 

1  In  this  speech  Otis  struck  the  "keynote"  of  the  first  phase  of 
the  American  revolution.  Lecky's  England,  vol.  iii.  p.  336,  says  that 
it  excited  great  enthusiasm  in  the  colonies.  Extracts  from  the  speech 
are  found  in  Tudor's  Life  of  James  Otis,  and  in  Mace's  Working 
Manual  of  American  History. 


THE   GROWTH    OF    UNION.  109 

societies,  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Liberty,  and  a  whirlwind 
of  indignation.  The  Tea  Tax,  the  Massachusetts  Circular 
Letter,  the  Boston  Tea  Party,  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  and 
other  events  all  produced  similar  results,  —  closer  unity  in 
sentiment,  and  greater  cooperation  in  action.  On  this  one- 
ness of  mind  and  heart  independence  rested  for  its  declara- 
tion and  its  success.  The  growth  of  union  and  the  success 
of  the  war  were  mutually  dependent.  This  same  sentiment 
gave  existence  to  the  Confederation,  and  as  it  waxed  or 
waned,  the  Confederation  was  strong  or  weak.  But  the 
great  process  of  unification  went  on  and  finally  gave  us 
the  form  of  a  nation, — the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  the  crowning  event  of  the  American  Revolution. 

Organization  of  the  Period  as  a  Whole.  —  The  above 
brief  examination  of  the  thought  and  feeling  of  this  period 
is  made  to  show  that  an  organizing  idea  in  history  is  not 
an  arbitrary  whim  or  invention,  but  is  a  real,  vital  thing  to 
be  discovered  by  probing  into  the  very  essence  of  the  facts 
to  be  organized,  is  a  scientific  induction  drawn  from  a  most 
careful  and  penetrating  analysis  and  comparison  of  the 
facts  observed.1  It  will  be  noticed  that  this  examination 
confirms  what  we  saw  when  dividing  our  history  into  its 
great  coordinate  parts,  and  also  what  was  seen  above  when 
tracing  the  evolution  of  this  period  out  of  the  life  of  the 
preceding,  —  that  the  differentiating  mark  of  this  phase  of 
our  life  is  the  growth  of  the  sentiment  of  union.  If  the 

1  It  is  not  intended  even  to  suggest  that  the  examination  of  the 
above  events  constitutes  the  process  of  induction  necessary  to  reach 
the  organizing  idea. 


110          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

results  of  these  examinations  did  not  mutually  support  one 
another  there  could  be  no  organization.  For  this  idea  of 
union  could  not  interpret  the  events  of  this  period,  if  it 
did  not  at  the  same  time  set  them  off  from  the  events  of 
the  other  periods.  This  is  a  test  .which  must  be  satis- 
fied by  the  organizing  principle  of  science;  otherwise 
it  cannot  lay  claim  to  the  function  of  such  an  idea.  The 
ultimate  test,  of  course,  comes  in  the  process  of  inter- 
pretation, when  the  student  is  carefully  searching  for  the 
content  —  for  the  true  significance — -of  the  individual 
facts.  If  the  induction  is  a  true  one  this  detailed  and 
painstaking  search  will  only  reveal  in  this  period  the 
idea  of  union  in  greater  fullness.  It  is  finding  this  iden- 
tity of  content  in  the  series  of  events  called  the  Revolution 
that  enables  the  mind  to  see  it  as  an  organically  related 
whole.  Here  are  events  so  widely  different  in  aspect  as 
almost  to  lose  the  student  in  the  maze  of  differences,  but 
under  the  direction  of  this  idea  of  union  we  find  them  all 
akin.  Identity  of  content  is  the  only  law  of  mind  or  of 
history  that  will  enable  the  student  to  organize  so  many 
diverse  facts  into  a  logical  historical  whole. 

The  time  between  1760  and  1789  was  rich  with  events ; 
and  their  systematic  study  as  a  whole  must  be  carried 
further  by  measuring  their  relative  value  as  a  means  to 
give  them  rank  in  the  period.  This  is  accomplished 
by  comparing  these  events  as  to  their  relative  contri- 
bution to  the  growth  of  the  dominant  idea  of  this  time. 
Not  only  as  a  matter  of  knowledge  but  as  a  matter  pertain- 
ing to  the  intelligent  direction  of  others,  the  teacher  must 


THE   GROWTH   OF   UNION.  Ill 

answer  such  questions  as  this  :  Which  event  will  give  the 
student  the  deepest  insight  into  the  great  movement  toward 
unity  in  thought  and  action,  —  the  struggle  over  the  Writs 
of  Assistance,  the  Stamp  Act  Congress,  the  Boston  Tea 
Party,  the  battle  of  Lexington,  the  creation  of  the  Confed- 
eration, or  the  ratifying  conventions  that  established  the 
Constitution  ?  This  question  asked  and  answered  for  the 
leading  facts  of  the  Revolution  will  give  them  their  true 
rank  in  the  period,  —  their  proper  coordination  and  sub- 
ordination in  the  series.  The  student  will  thus  be  able  to 
view  them  in  their  true  historical  perspective.  Then  the 
period  is  no  longer  a  chaos  of  facts,  but  each  one  stands  in 
the  place  assigned  it  by  its  own  historical  significance. 

The  Phases  of  the  Period.  —  As  a  means  to  a  scientific 
knowledge  of  the  period  as  a  whole,  there  can  be  no  doubt 
concerning  the  value  of  the  general  process  of  organization 
just  explained.  But  the  general  idea  of  union,  as  the  con- 
tent for  events  taken  singly  or  in  groups  smaller  than 
that  of  the  period,  is  not  adequate,  —  is  too  abstract  for 
purposes  of  detailed  study  and  organization.  This  would 
leave  the  content  of  revolutionary  events  not  only  vague, 
but  necessarily  also  the  student's  notion  of  the  movement 
of  union  would  be  indefinite.  Hence,  for  the  sake  of  the 
organizing  idea  as  well  as  for  a  more  concrete  content  to 
give  to  individual  facts,  the  idea  of  union  must  be  pushed 
out  into  all  its  different  manifestations  —  into  all  the  shades 
of  meaning  that  it  took  on  in  its  process  of  evolution.  To 
obtain  this  richer  content  we  must  appeal  to  another  great 
function  of  our  organizing  idea  —  the  division  of  the  period 


112         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

into  its  organic  parts.  In  obedience  to  the  principle  of 
logical  division,  and  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  continu- 
ity and  differentiation,  we  must  find  these  parts  by  dis- 
covering differences  in  the  growth  of  the  sentiment  of 
union.  In  casting  the  eye  along  the  course  of  this  mighty 
current  between  1760  and  1789,  there  appear  two  general 
differences.  In  one  part  of  the  stream,  thought  and  feeling 
are  flowing  in  unison  against  England,  while  in  the  other, 
ideas  and  sentiments  are  moving  toward  agreement  as  to 
the  proper  relations  between  the  states  and  the  general 
government.  Union  against  England  dominated  public 
sentiment  from  1760  to  1783,  and  union  on  domestic  ques- 
tions had  its  beginning  about  1775  and  grew  in  intensity 
till  1789.  These  forms  of  union  constitute  the  two  great 
coordinate  phases  of  the  period  of  revolution.  These  two 
phases  overlap,  which  is  proof  that  the  parts  are  histori- 
cally true  and  were  really  organic  forms  of  the  people's 
thought,  and  not  mere  artificial  inventions. 

UNION  AGAINST  ENGLAND. 

Organizes  Events  from  1760  to  1783  into  a  Series. — 

Since  the  idea  of  union  against  England  differentiates  the 
first  from  the  second  half  of  this  period,  it  must  also 
integrate  all  the  leading  facts  of  the  first  half.  Union 
against  England  will  be  found  as  their  chief  common 
content.  Whether  we  study  the  Massachusetts  Circular 
Letter,  the  Congress  of  1774,  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, Washington's  retreat  through  the  Jerseys,  or  Bur- 
goyne's  campaign,  the  greatest  common  significance  we 


THE   GROWTH   OF   UNION.  113 

can  find  in  them  is  the  relation  of  union  to  them  as  cause 
and  their  reaction  upon  it  as  effect.  The  problem  is  not 
entirely  solved  when  all  the  facts  are  thus  traced  into  this 
great  stream  of  public  sentiment.  These  events  must 
stand  in  the  mind  in  orderly  arrangement.  If  a  true  his- 
torical sense  is  to  be  developed  in  the  student,  they  must 
be  given  rank  on  basis  of  their  contribution  to  maintaining 
union  against  England.  We  see  that  this  is  a  more  con- 
crete and  definite  organizing  idea  than  the  general  idea  of 
union.  Perhaps  it  is  possible  to  discover  a  still  more 
substantial  organizing  idea.  This  can  come,  as  we  have 
often  seen,  only  by  discovering  the  inherent  differences  in 
the  growth  of  the  organizing  idea,  —  in  this  case,  union 
against  England.  A  glance  at  this  growth  will  reveal  two 
contrasting  phases  :  Union  against  England  on  the  basis 
of  the  Rights  of  Englishmen,  extending  from  about  1760 
to  1775,  and  most  fully  expressed  in  the  Declaration  of 
Eights  ;  and  union  against  England  on  the  basis  of  the 
Rights  of  Man,  which  extended  from  1775  to  1783,  and 
best  expressed  in  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

Union  on  the  Basis  of  Rights  of  Englishmen.  —  The 
growth  of  union  on  the  basis  of  the  Rights  of  Englishmen 
is,  in  the  order  of  time,  the  first  phase  of  the  American 
Revolution.  To  secure  their  rights  as  British  subjects 
under  the  British  Constitution  was  the  animating  thought 
that  organized  resistance  to  every  measure  of  king  or  par- 
liament aiming  at  an  infringement  of  colonial  privileges. 
It  was  the  inspiration  of  this  idea  that  first  made  Ameri- 
cans one  in  thought  and  sentiment,  and  concentrated  their 


114          ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

efforts  in  every  struggle  from  the  Writs  of  Assistance  to 
the  battle  of  Lexington.  The  resolutions  of  town  meet- 
ings and  of  colonial  assemblies,  petitions  to  the  king  and 
addresses  to  the  English  parliament  and  people  by  the 
Continental  Congress,  the  organization  and  work  of  "the 
Sons  and  Daughters  of  Liberty,  the  Committees  of  Corre- 
spondence, the  Non-importation  and  Non-exportation  socie- 
ties, the  passage  of  the  Stamp  Act,  Tea  Tax,  and  Boston 
Port  Bill,  the  Boston  Massacre  and  the  Tea  Party,  either 
consciously  aimed  at,  or  unconsciously  produced,  a  union 
to  obtain  the  rights  common  to  all  Englishmen.  The 
development  of  this  sentiment,  then,  must  be  taken  as  the 
organizing  idea  for  all  the  facts  of  this  first  part  of  the 
union  against  England.  To  trace  the  connection  between 
these  individual  facts  and  this  great  idea  —  to  see  each  of 
them  producing  it  or  produced  by  it,  or  both  —  is  to  inter- 
pret them. 

A  formal  interpretation  of  some  one  of  the  events  of 
this  time  may  serve  to  make  plainer  the  process  by  which 
a  concrete  organizing  idea  performs  its  work.  Let  it  be  a 
familiar  one,  —  the  Stamp  Act  Congress.  The  process  of 
interpreting  this  event  must  follow  the  general  principle 
already  laid  down,  and  therefore  requires  two  things  of  the 
student :  1.  That  he  show,  if  possible,  the  congress  to  be 
an  outgrowth  of  union  and  cooperation  already  in  existence. 
2.  That  he  show  to  what  extent  and  in  what  way  this 
meeting  gave  new  impulses  to  thought  and  action  directed 
to  secure  a  united  effort  for  the  Eights  of  Englishmen. 
The  student  has  seen  this  movement  going  on  as  the  result 


THE   GROWTH    OF    UNION.  115 

of  a  number  of  conflicts  before  the  time  of  the  Stamp  Act. 
Besides,  it  was  more  than  a  year  after  the  first  news  of  the 
Stamp  Act  reached  America  that  the  congress  convened. 
During  this  time  he  has  been  watching  public  sentiment 
take  form.  He  has  seen  organized  opposition  begin  in 
the  towns,  and  has  noted  its  transfer  to  colonial  legis- 
latures through  instructions  to  representatives.  From 
capital  to  capital,  and  from  town  to  capital  and  back 
again,  he  has  watched  the  news  of  agitation  .spread  over 
the  continent.  This  system  of  intercommunication  he  saw 
carry  the  burning  words  of  Patrick  Henry  to  every  colony 
both  North  and  South,  giving  courage  and  enthusiasm  to 
all  the  people  till  a  call  for  a  congress  resounded  over  all 
the  land.  By  this  process  the  student  has  been  accumulat- 
ing meaning  for  the  congress,  so  that  when  he  comes  to  it 
he  is  historically  prepared  for  it.  It  stands  to  him  as  the 
expression  of  a  great  idea  —  an  idea  that  moves  profoundly 
the  mind  and  heart  of  an  entire  people.  The  meeting  of 
this  congress  is  not  to  him  an  empty  happening  which 
might  or  might  not  have  occurred ;  but  he  sees  its  vital 
connection  with  the  public  sentiment  that  gave  it  birth, 
and  hence  views  it  as  an  occurrence  which  is  natural,  if 
not  necessary. 

The  work  of  this  meeting  must  also  be  looked  at  from 
the  point  of  view  of  its  effects  on  the  growth  of  union. 
Even  the  greatness  of  the  men  comprising  the  congress 
has  this  significance.  The  eminence  of  that  body  only 
gave  greater  impetus  to  the  movement  among  the  people. 
One  of  the  marked  features  of  the  work  accomplished  was 


116          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

that  it  came  almost  unanimously  from  their  hands.  This 
fact  was  of  no  small  consequence,  for  agreement  among  the 
leaders  made  the  rank  and  file  harmonious.  The  Declara- 
tion of  Rights  —  the  most  important  document  issued  by 
the  congress  —  was  calculated  greatly  to  strengthen  one- 
ness in  thought  and  action  because  it  gave  to  the  struggle 
a  constitutional  basis.  This  document,  distributed  among 
the  people,  read,  debated,  and  talked  over,  was  not  only 
felt  to  be  a  justification  of  what  had  been  done,  but  was  a 
powerful  educator  of  the  public  mind  as  to  the  ground  of 
resistance.  The  loyal  and  warm-hearted  petition  of  the 
congress  to  the  king  touched  a  responsive  chord  every- 
where in  America ;  it  truly  expressed  the  sentiments  of 
Americans  toward  their  sovereign,  and,  taken  with  the 
Declaration  of  Rights,  it  showed  how  loyalty  and  love  of 
liberty  grow  side  by  side  —  how  loyalty  does  not  mean 
servility,  nor  union  treason.  Thus  we  see  that  every 
important  point  connected  with  the  congress  touches  the 
union  to  secure  the  Rights  of  Englishmen. 

It  is  quite  possible  to  put  into  the  Stamp  Act  Congress 
a  more  specific  and  individualized  content  than  union  for 
the  Rights  of  Englishmen,  i.e.,  union  against  internal  taxa- 
tion ;  but  we  have  carried  the  process  far  enough  for 
purposes  of  illustration.  In  the  light  of  this  process  of 
organization,  we  see  in  this  event  a  very  perfect  gradation 
of  ideas.  In  the  first  place,  beginning  with  the  lowest 
degree  of  generality,  the  Stamp  Act  Congress  expresses 
the  immediate  determination  of  the  people  to  secure  the 
repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act.  The  discovery  of  this  idea  in  its 


THE   GROWTH   OF   UNION.  117 

content  makes  this  congress  a  member  of  a  series  of  events 
that  were  means  in  trying  to  reach  the  same  end.  With 
this  idea  in  mind  for  its  content,  it  is  a  member  of  the 
smallest  of  the  various  series  to  which  it  belongs.  Kising 
a  step  higher  in  the  scale  of  generality,  we  found  in  the 
Stamp  Act  Congress  an  idea  common  to  all  great  events 
between  1761  and  1775,  —  union  to  secure  the  Rights  of 
Englishmen  ;  here  it  becomes  akin  to  the  struggle  over  the 
Writs  of  Assistance,  the  Massachusetts  Circular  Letter, 
the  Boston  Tea  Party,  and  the  congress  of  1774.  In  this 
same  event  we  also  found  the  more  general  idea  of  union 
against  England  ;  thus  giving  it  place  and  meaning  in  a 
wider  range  of  facts.  It  is  now  allied  to  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  Valley 
Forge,  the  treason  of  Arnold,  and  the  surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis.  But  this  congress  of  1765  contains  the  general 
idea  of  union  —  an  idea  that  threads  every  great  event  of 
the  American  Revolution.  In  embodying  union  in  its  gen- 
eral form,  the  Stamp  Act  Congress  strikes  hands  with 
the  transformation  of  colonial  into  state  governments,  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  Shays'  Rebellion,  the  cession  of 
western  lands,  the  formation  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincin- 
nati, and  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1787.  Rising 
once  more  and  finally  in  the  scale  of  generality,  we  have  in 
this  event  an  idea  that  permeates  all  the  facts  of  our  his- 
tory—  the  evolution  of  the  life  of  the  American  people. 
What  is  true  of  this  event  is  true  of  the  period  of  the  Revo- 
lution, and  what  is  true  of  this  period  is  true  of  our  entire 
history  :  it  can  be  organized  into  a  Hierarchy  of  Ideas. 


118          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

Union  on  Basis  of  the  Rights  of  Man.  —  This  is  the 
second  phase  of  the  struggle  against  England,  and  has  its 
origin  when  public  sentiment  begins  to  pass  over  from  the 
Rights  of  Englishmen  to  the  Rights  of  Man.  The  germs 
of  this  new  basis  of  union  are  found  in  the  preceding 
struggle.  "The  rights  of  man,"  "natural  rights,"  and 
similar  expressions  are  found  in  the  speeches  and  writings 
of  Otis,  Henry,  and  in  the  documents  of  legislatures  and 
congresses.  The  genesis  of  the  new  movement  was  greatly 
stimulated  by  the  failure  of  the  great  efforts  of  Chatham 
and  Burke  at  conciliation,  and  by  the  attitude  of  king  and 
parliament  toward  the  petitions  of  the  congresses  of  1774 
and  1775.  The  congress  of  1775  sent  a  final  petition  to  the 
king  by  the  hand  of  a  good  loyalist,  Richard  Penn.  While 
waiting  for  the  king's  answer,  the  congress,  in  order  not  to 
prejudice  the  petition's  reception,  refused  to  undertake 
any  measure  looking  toward  independence.  When,  how- 
ever, word  came  that  the  king  refused  to  reply  to  the 
petition,  proclaimed  the  colonists  rebels,  and  provided 
for  mercenary  troops,  the  congress  went  forward  rapidly 
with  measures  that  looked  toward  independence.  Lex- 
ington and  Bunker  Hill  had  already  occurred,  and  the 
siege  of  Boston  was  in  progress.  Paine's  Common  Sense 
came  in  January,  1776,  to  add  argument  to  the  force  of 
events  in  favor  of  separation.  These  and  other  events 
convinced  the  majority  of  the  people  that  England  would 
never  grant  their  coveted  English  rights.  This  conviction 
forced  them  to  contemplate  a  broader  and  a  more  generous 
basis  of  action,  —  the  Rights  of  Man.  The  ripening  of  this 


THE   GROWTH   OF    UNION.  119 

new  sentiment  produced  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
—  the  best  formulation  of  the  Rights  of  Man  ever  penned. 
In  the  winter  and  spring  of  1776  various  colonies  began, 
with  the  advice  of  congress,  to  reorganize  their  local  gov- 
ernments. New  Hampshire  and  South  Carolina  were  among 
the  earliest  to  form  a  government  based  on  the  "  consent  of 
the  governed."  In  April,  1776,  North  Carolina  instructed 
her  delegates  in  congress  to  cooperate  with  the  other  col- 
onies in  measures  for  independence.  May  4th,  Rhode 
Island  disclaimed  allegiance  to  the  king,  and  instructed  its 
delegates  in  congress  to  promote  union  and  confedera- 
tion. The  great  commonwealth  of  Virginia,  in  convention 
assembled,  voted  (May  15th)  to  instruct  its  representatives 
in  congress  to  propose  a  declaration  of  independence,  con- 
federation, and  foreign  alliances.  This  action  was  trans- 
mitted to  the  other  colonial  assemblies.  On  June  12th 
the  convention  issued  a  "  Declaration  of  the  Rights  of  Man." 
Of  course  Massachusetts,  in  1775,  had  overthrown  the  royal 
government.  Thus  the  movement  away  from  the  Rights  of 
Englishmen  and  forward  to  the  Rights  of  Man  went  on  till 
the  summer  of  1776,  when  the  more  conservative  colonies 
could  withstand  the  agitation  no  longer,  and  where  the 
regular  colonial  authorities  refused  to  instruct  for  indepen- 
dence, popular  conventions  assumed  that  function.  The 
formal  Declaration  of  Independence  marks  the  triumph  of 
the  new  basis  of  union  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  the 
American  people.  Its  permanent  triumph  in  institutional 
organization  will  be  determined  by  the  fortunes  of  war. 
•The  enumeration  of  the  above  facts  is  not  for  the  pur- 


120          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

pose  of  tracing  all  the  causes  that  gave  rise  to  the  change 
in  American  thought  and  feeling,  but  rather  to  show 
how  union  for  the  Rights  of  Man1  becomes  the  domi- 
nant idea  for  the  second  phase  of  union  against  England. 
This  also  serves  to  show  that  our  organizing  idea  in  this 
new  phase  of  the  Revolution  is  not  merely  assumed  or 
invented,  but  is  the  essence  of  that  phase  of  institutional 
life  which  most  completely  absorbed  the  energies  of  the 
people  for  that  time,  —  a  movement  so  fundamental  that 
the  immediate  past  flowed  into  it,  and  the  immediate 
future  sprang  out  of  it. 

The  Organization  of  Military  Events.  —  After  the  dec- 
laration was  made,  most  of  the  events  connected  with  this 
phase  of  the  Revolution  were  military  in  character.  Even 
those  not  strictly  military  were  more  or  less  a  means  to 
the  progress  of  the  war.  Battles  and  campaigns  are  a 
class  of  historical  facts  that  have  puzzled  teachers  and 
students.  For  a  number  of  years  less  and  less  attention 
has  been  given  to  their  study.  Some  persons  urge  their 
omission  from  text-books  altogether.  This  is  a  natural 
reaction  against  the  old-time  view  of  history  which  made 
it  consist  largely  of  wars  and  the  career  of  warriors.  Such 
was,  no  doubt,  a  very  one-sided  and  superficial  view  of  the 

1  The  expression  "Rights  of  Man"  really  names  more  funda- 
mentally the  content  of  this  movement  than  either  "Independence  " 
or  "  Separation."  The  latter  are  more  frequently  used,  but  the  stu- 
dent must  see  that  separation  is  likely  to  seem  more  of  an  act  and 
less  of  a  growth  than  the  rights  of  man.  Besides,  independence  is 
rightly  viewed  as  a  means  to  the  realization  of  the  rights  of  men  in 
American  institutions. 


THE   GROWTH   OF   UNION.  121 

subject ;  but  it  may  be  safely  held  that  the  military  side 
of  history  will  never  again  dominate  our  books  and  our 
teaching.  Persons  who  oppose  the  study  of  military 
events  altogether  generally  do  so  on  some  ground  outside 
the  subject-matter  of  history.  This  may  be  a  worthy 
ground  of  opposition,  but  it  is  one  which  method  in  his- 
torical study  can  hardly  take  into  consideration,  and  so 
the  question  still  remains:  Have  battles  and  wars  no  his- 
torical significance  ?  Shall  the  battles  of  the  Revolution 
have  a  place  in  our  study  ?  Most  persons  will  answer 
this  question  affirmatively;  but  in  order  to  understand  the 
ground  for  the  answer,  this  question  must  be  asked:  Did 
the  battles  of  the  Revolution  have  anything  to  do  with 
the  real  Revolution?  This  can  be  answered  only  in 
the  affirmative,  thus  giving  military  events  a  place  in  the 
study;  but  what  place  or  rank  is  not  indicated.  For  an 
intelligent  understanding  of  the  subject,  as  well  as  for 
pedagogical  purposes,  we  need  to  determine  more  carefully 
what  content  and  what  value  are  to  be  given  to  such 
events  in  the  study  of  this  part  of  the  conflict.  This  can 
be  done  only  by  the  aid  of  the  organizing  idea  of  this  part 
of  the  subject.  The  relation  which  the  battles  had  to 
the  sentiment  of  union  in  general,  and  to  union  against 
England  for  the  Rights  of  Man  in  particular,  is  the  stand- 
ard to  which  we  must  appeal.  It  may  be  remarked  that 
some  think  the  Revolutionary  War  was  the  Revolution; 
but  we  have  seen  one  phase  of  the  struggle  end  before  the 
war  began.  The  battles  of  the  Revolution  were  hardly 
a  part  of  the  real  Revolution.  They  were  the  sign  —  the 


122         ORGANIZATION   O'F   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

external  evidence  —  that  there  was  a  real  revolution  in 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  the  people;  they  were  also  the 
means  by  which  the  Rights  of  Man  were  secured  —  by 
which  the  advance  in  thought  and  feeling  was  made  per- 
manent. The  relation  between  the  war  and  the  new  form 
of  union  was,  therefore,  an  intimate  one.  It  may  be  stated 
in  another  way:  the  relation  between  them  was  one  of 
mutual  dependence;  the  success  or  failure  of  one  was  the 
most  potent  factor  in  giving  strength  or  weakness  to  the 
other.  Perfect  cooperation  and  union  among  the  people 
won  victories,  and  oftentimes  victories  aroused  their  spirit 
to  more  hearty  and  enthusiastic  support  for  the  cause. 
Hence  the  rise  and  fall  in  the  tide  of  public  sentiment 
cannot  be  traced  from  1775  to  1783  without  some  study  of 
the  military  events  of  that  time.  But  how  shall  we  study 
a  battle?  What,  for  instance,  is  the  problem  to  be  solved 
in  studying  the  battle  of  Lexington  ?  Our  organizing  prin- 
ciples —  union  for  the  Rights  of  Englishmen  and  union 
for  the  Rights  of  Man  —  must  give  answer.  How  the  sen- 
timent of  union,  already  in  existence,  tended  to  cause  the 
battle,  and  how  the  battle  in  turn  affected  the  spirit  of  one- 
ness among  the  people.  The  student  must  see  flowing  into 
this  battle  all  the  preparations  the  colonists  had  made: 
the  formation  of  committees  of  safety,  the  organization  of 
minute  men,  the  manufacture  and  storing  of  munitions 
of  war,  the  establishment  of  means  of  rapid  communication 
between  Boston  and  the  villages  and  country  to  enable 
them  to  watch  the  British  and  to  alarm  the  country  in 
case  of  danger.  All  these,  and  others  like  them,  were 


THE   GROWTH   OF   UNION.  123 

phases  of  the  cooperation  that  made  such  a  fight  possible. 
The  movement  toward  union,  manifesting  itself  in  these 
various  ways,  was  the  true  cause  of  the  battle,  its  char- 
acter, and  its  immediate  result.  How  much  more  meaning 
is  given  to  this  event  by  viewing  it  in  this  way  than  by 
seeing  it  as  the  result  only  of  a  purpose  on  the  part  of  the 
British  to  destroy  military  stores  !  We  now  turn  the  battle 
towards  its  results  and  see  how  its  content  is  enriched. 
First,  let  us  see  how  not  to  do  it.  How  this  skirmish 
wrought  up  public  opinion  to  so  high  a  pitch  is  not  to  be 
discovered  by  trying  to  decide  which  party  fired  the  first 
shot,  nor  by  quoting  the  language  used  by  Major  Pitcairri 
as  he  bade  the  minute  men  lay  down  their  arms,  nor  by 
trying  to  remember  the  number  killed,  wounded,  and  miss- 
ing on  each  side.  One  might  know  all  these  facts,  and 
many  more  of  the  accidental  features  of  the  affair,  and  yet 
not  see  the  flame  of  indignation  that  swept  over  the  land 
and  made  the  people  think  and  act  as  one  man.  A  part  of 
the  answer  to  the  problem  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  is  to 
be  found  by  seeing  the  response  that  came  in  the  form  of 
minute  men  from  thirty  Massachusetts  towns  before  that 
day's  work  was  over,  and  from  all  New  England  and  the 
country  at  large  in  the  days  and  weeks  that  immediately 
followed  this  contest.  This  answer  is  further  to  be  read 
in  the  assembly  of  twenty  thousand  provincials  around 
Boston,  and  in  the  patriotic  resolves  and  energetic  meas- 
ures of  the  colonial  assemblies,  as  they  took  up  the  burden 
of  war.  After  this  manner  are  we  to  interpret  the  battles 
of  the  war. 


124         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY 

The  interpretation  of  the  above  battle  makes  the  prob- 
lem in  the  study  of  a  military  event  the  same  in  kind 
as  that  connected  with  any  other  event.  The  historical 
significance  of  a  battle  can  be  obtained  in  no  other  way. 
To  study  it  as  a  military  event,  or  a  war  as  a  series  of 
military  events,  merely ;  to  view  it  as  a  student  of  mili- 
tary science,  is  to  miss  its  true  historical  content.  Be- 
cause teachers  of  history  and  writers  of  text-books  have 
persisted  in  trying  to  treat  battles  and  campaigns  as  illus- 
trations of  military  science,  or  have  viewed  them  as  mere 
external  happenings  isolated  from  the  real  life  of  the 
people,  came  the  reaction  against  the  study  of  battles. 
It  is  believed,  however,  that  the  method  of  interpretation 
suggested,  and  applied  to  the  battle  of  Lexington,  will 
go  far  towards  giving  military  events  their  legitimate 
rank  among  historical  data;  but,  in  general,  this  view  of 
their  content  will  not  permit  them  to  hold  their  former 
rank. 

The  illustration  given  does  not  go  far  into  details  — 
only  states  the  problem  and  points  out  the  general  plan  of 
its  solution.  From  the  enumeration  of  only  a  few  facts 
about  the  battle  of  Lexington  the  inference  should  not  be 
drawn  that  none  of  the  accidental  features  of  a  battle  are 
to  be  studied.  The  battle,  like  any  other  external  event,  is 
a  means  and  not  an  end;  it  was  a  means  and  not  an  end  to 
the  people  who  participated  in  it  It  must  follow  that 
only  such  features  of  the  battle  or  campaign  are  to  be 
studied  as  will  contribute  to  the  end  in  view.  No  more 
definite  law  than  this  can  be  stated,  because  the  accidental 


THE   GROWTH   OF   UNION.  125 

features  of  a  battle,  the  particular  officers  in  command, 
the  numbers  on  each  side,  the  number  killed  and  wounded, 
movements,  condition  of  each  army  as  to  supplies  and 
other  munitions  of  war,  and  like  points,  bear  no  fixed 
ratio  to  the  effect  on  public  opinion.  In  a  given  battle  or 
campaign,  one  set  of  features  may  account  for  a  change 
in  public  opinion,  while  in  another  battle  a  different  set 
of  facts  may  have  to  be  appealed  to.  Again,  military 
events  of  similar  proportions  do  not  bring  about  corre- 
sponding changes  in  the  ideas  and  attitudes  of  the  people. 
The  disparity  in  the  results  of  battles  may  be  illustrated 
by  the  skirmish  of  Lexington  and  the  storming  of  Stony 
Point.  To  the  student  of  military  science,  the  latter  has 
many  points  of  interest,  while  the  former  has  little  to 
commend  .it  to  him.  To  the  student  of  the  institutional 
life  of  the  people,  the  affair  at  Lexington  is  full  of  interest, 
while  the  attack  on  Stony  Point  has  little  value  to  him  as 
a  means  of  tracing  the  growth  of  ideas  in  the  Revolution. 
It  is  true  that  this  daring  event  has  many  unique  and 
thrilling  features  about  it,  but  their  value  ends  in  them- 
selves, for  they  do  not  lead  the  student  into  the  current 
of  human  passion.  This  illustrates  the  statement  that 
there  is  no  fixed  relation,  nor  one  permitting  formulation, 
existing  between  a  battle  and  the  movement  of  public 
sentiment.  The  reaction  in  popular  feeling  caused  by  the 
actions  at  Trenton  and  Princeton  was  greater,  in  propor- 
tion to  their  size,  than  the  depression  produced  by  the 
series  of  disasters  begun  by  the  great  defeat  on  Long 
Island  and  closed  by  the  flight  across  the  Jerseys.  The 


126          ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

best  that  can  be  done,  therefore,  is  for  the  teacher  to  keep 
before  the  student  the  problem  to  be  solved,  and,  if  neces- 
sary, to  direct  him  in  the  preparation  of  his  work,  so  that 
emphasis  will  be  given  to  those  features  that  throw  most 
light  on  the  problem.1 

If  the  content  of  public  sentiment  in  the  form  of  union 
for  the  Eights  of  Man  is  searched  for  in  all  the  military 
events  of  the  time,  the  mind  will  group  these  facts  into 
a  series,  on  the  basis  of  a  common  historical  content ;  they 
thus  become  as  much  a  part  of  the  Revolution  as  any  other 
event  of  that  time.  It  must  appear  also,  from  the  above 
discussion,  that  those  military  events  contributing  most  to 
the  end  struggled  for  are  the  ones  having  the  richest  his- 
torical content,  and  must  take  highest  rank  in  the  series. 
If  this  standard  of  determining  the  relative  value  of  events 
be  applied  to  all  the  battles  and  campaigns  of  the  war,  the 
result  will  give  about  three  grades  of  events:  a  very  few 
campaigns  to  be  studied  in  detail ;  a  much  larger  number 
of  battles  whose  significance  can  be  obtained  in  a  single 
reading;  and  a  still  larger  number,  including  mere  local 
skirmishes,  whose  content  is  so  vague  that  they  should 
not  be  studied  at  all. 

During  this  second  phase  of  the  struggle  against  England 
we  have  seen  that  another  series  of  events,  more  purely 
political  in  character,  were  taking  place ;  they  included 
the  ordinary  work  of  the  Continental  Congress,  the  Declar- 

1  It  may  not  be  amiss  for  the  student  in  his  reading  to  touch  on  the 
details  of  events  which  have  no  bearing  on  the  problem  in  hand,  but 
the  teacher  should  not  waste  time  in  emphasizing  them  in  recitation. 


THE   GROWTH   OF    UNION.  127 

ation  of  Independence,  the  formation  of  state  constitu- 
tions, foreign  relations,  the  attempt  to  establish  a  general 
government  on  the  basis  of  the  Articles  of  Confederation, 
and  other  events  of  a  like  nature.  These  are  to  be  inter- 
preted and  integrated  by  the  same  organizing  idea  that 
answered  for  the  military  events  —  union  for  the  Bights 
of  Man.  The  Declaration  of  Independence,  as  a  document, 
gives  the  best  formal  expression  of  these  rights.  It  em- 
bodies the  ideas  on  which  the  struggle  was  to  be  waged, 
and  on  which  it  was  to  be  justified  to  the  Americans 
themselves  and  to  the  rest  of  mankind.  The  act  of  Dec- 
laration is  evidence  that  new  ideas  had  taken  the  place  of 
the  old  basis  of  union.  The  enthusiasm  with  which  it 
was  received  by  the  army  and  by  the  people  attests  the 
fact  that  union  on  the  new  basis  was  an  accomplished 
fact ;  it  also  measures  to  the  student  the  strength  of  the 
revulsion  in  feeling  that  had  taken  place  between  April, 
1775,  and  July,  1776.  From  this  time  on  the  attainment 
of  the  Eights  of  Man  becomes  the  conscious  aim  of  the 
Americans.  It  is  held  by  some  that  the  dominant  idea  of 
any  time  is  not  always  consciously  present  to  the  people 
of  that  time.  This  is  not  true  of  the  people  in  the 
Revolutionary  period.  They  had  not  only  given  up  the 
hope  of  English  rights,  but  had  substituted  a  new  ambition, 
and  one  full  of  inspiration.  This  is  the  ideal  that  ani- 
mated their  every  act  from  the  smallest  to  the  greatest ; 
it  was  a  consuming  passion  with  them.  It  seems  to  follow, 
then,  that  the  student  ought  to  put  into  the  means  used 
the  same  meaning  which  the  people  did  themselves ;  but 


128         ORGANIZATION   OP   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

this  interpretation  cannot  be  made  unless  the  doctrines  of 
the  great  Declaration  are  studied,  here  and  now,  in  the 
very  place  this  event  occupies  in  the  series  of  which 
it  is  a  part.  In  the  ordinary  text-book,  Richard  Henry 
Lee's  resolution  holds  a  more  prominent  place  than 
any  part  of  the  Declaration.  This  has  given  the  im- 
pression that  the  former  is  of  more  importance  than  the 
latter.  Few  suggest  any  study  of  the  Declaration.  In 
trying  to  emphasize  the  need  of  studying  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  in  this  place,  I  do  not  mean  to 
insist  on  giving  more  attention  to  the  accidental  features 
of  this  event,  —  the  hall  in  which  it  was  made,  the  hand- 
writing of  the  document,  the  names  of  the  committee  that 
prepared  and  reported  it,  and  other  like  points, — but  rather 
that  the  student  ought  to  be  required  to  make  a  careful 
analysis  of  the  political  principles 1  found  therein,  so  that 
the  "rights  of  man"  may  mean  something  definite  to  him. 
The  accidental  features  should  not  be  ignored ;  but  the 
teacher  of  history  must  constantly  bear  in  mind  the  fact 
that  the  student  may  know  all  there  is  to  be  known  of 
such  features  and  still  not  know  the  real  Declaration  of 
Independence.  There  are  two  reasons  for  this  study :  it 
casts  a  new  and  fuller  light  on  the  events  preceding  the 
Declaration, — these  events  really  caused  it, — and  their  true 
and  full  meaning  is  not  known  till  the  things  that  were 
caused  are  understood;  again,  the  events,  both  political 
and  military,  that  followed  the  Declaration,  are  to  be  seen 

1  The  portion  of  the  Declaration  preceding  the  enumeration  of 
grievances  is  the  part  to  be  studied  most  at  this  point. 


THE   GROWTH   OF    UNION.  129 

as  means  in  the  process  by  which,  it  became  possible  for 
the  ideas  of  the  Declaration  to  become  the  foundation  of 
our  institutions.  Thus,  illuminated  by  the  same  great  idea, 
the  events  between  1775  and  1783  become  the  members  of 
a  connected  historical  series. 

It  must  follow  without  much  question  that  the  Declara- 
tion is  by  far  the  most  important  event  in  this  part  of  the 
Revolution,  and  must,  therefore,  be  given  a  large  share  of 
time.  In  truth,  the  idea  of  independence  begins  to  push 
to  the  front  with  the  battle  of  Lexington,  and  goes  on 
throughout  the  entire  series.  The  formation  of  the  state 
constitutions  will  show  how  rapidly  men's  minds '  grew 
toward  the  ideas  of  the  Declaration.  In  all  the  new 
constitutions  these  ideas  are  implied,  and  in  a  majority 
of  them  are  formally  expressed  in  shape  of  Bills  of  Eights. 
Wherever  we  turn,  therefore,  we  meet  with  the  new  ideas. 

UNION  OF  THE  STATES  BY  MEANS  OF  THE  GENERAL 
GOVERNMENT. 

The  Organizing  Idea  of  the  Second  Half  of  the  Revo- 
lution. —  The  period  of  the  Revolution  is  a  period  by 
virtue  of  the  growth  of  the  idea  of  union  which  permeated 
every  act  and  fact  of  that  age.  We  have  already  marked 
two  great  differentiating  forms  in  the  process  of  union; 
union  against  England,  which  constitutes  the  first  half  of 
the  period,  and  union  respecting  the  relation  between 
the  states  and  the  general  government,  which  constitutes 
the  last  half  of  the  period.  These  two  coordinate  parts 


130          ORGANIZATION    OF   AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

are  not  cross-sections  in  the  stream  of  Revolutionary 
thought  and  feeling,  but  are  parts  found  running  parallel 
through  a  portion  of  the  period. 

In  the  very  beginnings  of  the  Revolution  the  colonies 
were  brought  into  new  relations  with  each  other.  To 
promote  and  bring  to  a  successful  issue  the  combination 
against  England  required  not  only  new  and  strange  rela- 
tions between  the  thirteen  political  units,  but  that  these 
relations  be  made  definite  in  order  to  promote  harmonious 
and  efficient  action.  No  sooner  had  the  Continental  Con- 
gress convened  than  it  had  to  determine  the  number  of 
votes  a  colony  should  cast  and  the  number  of  votes  neces- 
sary to  bind  all  the  colonies.  When  the  war  opened,  still 
other  questions  pertaining  to  intercolonial  relations  pressed 
upon  congress,  such  as  the  number  of  troops,  the  amount 
of  supplies,  and  the  amount  of  money  to  be  raised.  How 
far  shall  the  authority  of  the  congress  extend,  and  when 
shall  the  authority  and  machinery  of  the  state  government 
come  into  play?  What  regulations  shall  be  placed  on 
interstate  commerce,  and  who  shall  place  and  execute  such 
regulations  ?  These  questions  and  many  other  kindred 
ones  arose  out  of  the  pressure  of  war.  The  Declaration 
of  Independence  also  aided  in  forcing  the  question  of 
domestic  union  upon  the  attention  of  the  people.  In  fact, 
the  committees  to  draw  up  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
and  the  Declaration  were  at  work  at  the  same  time,  and 
the  former  made  its  report  only  a  few  days  after  the  latter's 
work  was  done.  As  the  war  neared  its  close  and  the  bur- 
dens of  the  struggle  grew  heavier  and  heavier,  the  question 


THE   GROWTH   OF   UNION.  131 

of  the  proper  relations  between  the  states  and  the  general 
government  began  to  assume  still  more  prominence.  The 
efforts  to  pay  the  army,  to  make  satisfactory  commercial 
treaties  with  foreign  nations,  the  disturbances  over  inter- 
state trade,  and  the  injury  to  American  manufactures  at 
the  close  of  the  war  by  the  inflow  of  cheap  British  pro- 
ducts, all  kept  the  minds  of  the  people  constantly  agitated 
as  to  the  proper  distribution  of  sovereignty  between  the 
states  and  the  general  government.  The  same -problem 
confronted  the  Maryland  and  Virginia  commissioners  in 
1785,  and  that  still  greater  body  of  men  who  met  at  An- 
napolis in  1786  and  called  for  a  national  convention. 
And  what  was  the  greatest  problem  before  the  convention 
of  1787,  and  also  before  the  ratifying  state  conventions? 
Was  it  not  the  proper  adjustment  of  the  relations  between 
the  states  and  the  nation  ? 

The  movement  of  public  thought  and  feeling  towards 
agreement  on  some  principle  of  cooperation  between  the 
states  and  the  general  government  is  the  organizing  idea 
of  the  second  half  of  the  Revolution.  It  is  the  discovery 
of  this  idea  as  the  common  content  of  the  events  of  this 
time  that  makes  them  into  an  intelligible  series  —  makes 
them  more  than  a  mere  time-and-place  series.  This  can- 
not be  done  without  a  thoughtful  effort;  a  mere  reading 
over  of  the  events  and  facts  so  as  to  picture  them  dimly 
in  imagination  or  to  hold  them  vaguely  in  memory  will 
not  suffice.  It  is  not  intended  to  suggest  that  memory 
and  imagination  have  no  part  in  this  process  of  interpre- 
tation, for,  in  fact,  they  play  a  most  important  part.  The 


132          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

aim  is  to  guard  against  the  common  error  of  believing 
that  these  processes  reach  the  end  in  historical  study. 
Even  if  the  processes  of  imagination  and  memory  were 
perfect,  the  student  may  not  have  found  the  connection 
between  the  events  studied  and  the  general  principles 
.of  which  they  are  the  manifestation  and  which  control 
them  as  the  law  of  their  being.  The  teacher  must  there- 
fore see  to  it  that  the  student  discovers  this  movement 
as  cause  or  as  effect,  or  both,  in  the  individual  facts  of 
that  time,  and  that  he  distributes  his  time  and  energy 
among  these  events  in  proportion  as  they  contributed  to 
this  great  movement.  Some  gave  little,  some  gave  much, 
and  they  are  to  be  judged  accordingly. 

Union  on  Basis  of  Sovereignty  of  the  State.  —  Just  as 
we  have  found  public  sentiment  separating  the  question  of 
the  relation  of  the  states  to  the  general  government  on 
domestic  questions  from  their  relation  to  it  on  foreign 
questions,  so  it  began  soon  to  take  different  views  of  the 
kind  of  relation  that  should  subsist  between  these  two 
forms  of  government.  The  Declaration  of  Independence 
expressly  asserted  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  of  the  thir- 
teen colonies  as  a  whole  with  reference  to  England,  and  by 
implication  with  reference  to  the  rest  of  the  world.  Public 
sentiment  was  not  divided  by  state  lines  on  the  question 
of  independence  ;  but  when  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
brought  to  the  front  questions  involving  the  relations  of 
the  states  to  the  general  government  on  subjects  that  did 
not  primarily  touch  the  conflict  with  England,  it  was  found 
in  congress  and  among  the  people  that  no  such  unanimity 


THE    GROWTH    OF    UNION.  133 

of  sentiment  prevailed  as  to  the  principle  on  which  the 
relation  should  be  permanently  established.  This  differ- 
ence caused  the  congress  to  delay  over  a  year  before 
adopting  the  Articles.  It  was  found  impossible  to  carry 
the  principle  of  national  sovereignty,  which  controlled,  in 
the  main,  foreign  affairs,  into  the  domain  of  domestic 
questions  ;  and  the  more  public  sentiment  was  sounded, 
the  more  it  became  evident  that  the  states  must  be  more 
or  less  sovereign  in  home  affairs.  From  1775  to  1785  the 
sovereignty  of  the  state  on  internal  questions  was  gener- 
ally agreed  upon,  and  for  a  part  of  the  time  was  the  legal 
principle  of  connection  that  regulated  state  and  general 
governments  in  their  internal  dealing.  This  is  the  first 
phase  of  domestic  union  —  the  first  part  of  the  second  half 
of  the  Revolution.  The  Articles  of  Confederation  embody 
the  progress  made. 

The  growth  of  domestic  union  did  not  keep  pace  with 
union  against  England.  In  the  first  place,  the  colonies  had 
been  undergoing,  for  a  generation  or  more  before  the  Revo- 
lution, a  change  of  feeling  toward  the  mother  country. 
This  we  saw  in  the  study  of  each  group  of  colonies.  Be- 
sides, the  first  phase  of  union  against  England  had  to 
prove  itself  a  failure  as  a  means  of  obtaining  a  redress  of 
grievances  before  the  people  could  see  the  necessity  of  a 
permanent  union  based  upon  purely  American  interests. 
Of  course  no  such  union  could  arise  so  long  as  they  were 
struggling  for  the  Rights  of  Englishmen.  The  habit  of 
cooperating  against  England  was  fifteen  years  old  before 
the  germs  of  permanent  domestic  union  began  to  grow. 


134          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

Again,  from  1775  to  1783  the  interest  in  the  questions  of 
domestic  confederation  were  entirely  secondary,  as  we 
have  seen,  and  in  many  cases  arose  out  of  conditions 
which  were  likely  to  disappear  with  the  return  of  peace. 
Perhaps  many  of  these  causes  would  not  have  retarded 
a  vigorous  growth  of  internal  union  after  it  had  once 
taken  root,  but  certainly  two  causes  did  so  operate.  One 
was  the  people's  inbred  jealousy  of  any  authority  that 
seemed  to  have  even  the  appearance  of  centralization. 
This  was  not  an  unnatural  fear,  for  they  had  no  other 
experience  and  no  other  example  than  that  offered  by 
England.  The  other  lies  in  the  fact  of  the  peculiar  envi- 
ronment of  the  colonial  era  out  of  which  the  colonies  were 
trying  to  emerge.  The  people  were  attached  to  their  local 
institutions,  and  scarcely  a  man  in  1783  loved  America 
more  than  his  colony  or  state.  It  was  a  most  difficult 
problem  to  lead  the  people  to  repose  a  portion  of  their 
confidence  and  affection  in  a  new  system  of  government. 
For  these  reasons  the  Articles  of  Confederation  could  not 
and  did  not  embody  as  high  a  degree  of  domestic  union  as 
did  the  Declaration  of  union  against  England.  Theoreti- 
cally and  practically  the  states  held  more  sovereignty  than 
the  nation  so  far  as  internal  questions  were  concerned. 

The  sovereignty  of  the  state  is  the  dominant  idea  of  this 
sub-period  and  gives  historical  continuity  to  its  events  and 
performs  for  the  teacher  the  pedagogical  functions  of  organ- 
ization. This  idea  furnishes  the  main  content  for  all  the 
events  of  importance  touching  the  relations  between  the 
states  and  the  general  government.  It  is  the  great  idea 


THE   GROWTH   OF   UNION.  135 

that  controlled  this  class  of  events  during  that  time  ;  they 
came  in  obedience  to  it,  and  in  turn  reacted  on  public  sen- 
timent so  as  to  modify  this  law  of  their  being.  The 
sovereignty  of  the  state  is  the  fundamental  doctrine  of 
the  Articles  of  Confederation,  and  interprets  them  and  the 
acts  done  under  them.  Whatever  can  be  pointed  out  as 
defects  in  the  Articles,  and  as  failures  in  the  administra- 
tion under  them,  are  to  be  interpreted  by  this  principle 
and  its  corresponding  sentiment.  In  fact  all  the  defects 
in  this  instrument  are  there  because  this  fundamental 
defect  is  there.  They  can  all  be  reduced  to  it.  Not  only 
is  this  principle  the  interpreting  idea  for  the  defects  of 
the  Confederation,  but  for  such  facts  as  the  discontent  in 
the  army  near  the  close  of  the  war,  the  lack  of  confidence 
on  the  part  of  some  foreign  nations,  and  the  insolence  of 
others,  the  financial  and  industrial  depression,  Shays' 
rebellion,  and  many  others,  are  to  be  traced  to  this  same 
principle  as  their  sufficient  cause  and  historical  content. 
This  process  of  interpretation  results  in  giving  to  the 
student  a  series  of  unified  facts.  Not  only  will  these 
facts  stand  in  his  mind  as  having  a  common  content,  but 
he  will  readily  see  that  some  of  them  contain  more  of  this 
content  than  others.  Thus  this  study  enables  him  to  give 
to  each  of  these  facts  its  true  rank  in  the  series.  The 
knowledge  of  this  by  the  teacher  before  the  student  begins 
the  series  will  be  of  great  service  in  guiding  the  work  so 
as  to  secure  economy  of  time  and  energy. 

Union  on  Basis  of   Sovereignty  of  the  Nation.  —  No 
doubt  the  careful  student  has  observed,  in  the   series  of 


136          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

events  just  studied,  this  difference:  that  although  state 
sovereignty  is  the  main  content  of  these  events  so  far  as 
their  cause  is  concerned,  yet  their  effects  often  tended  to 
draw  the  people  away  from  this  principle  as  the  basis  of 
government.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  jevents  be- 
tween the  closing  years  of  the  war  and  1786.  We  may  say, 
then,  that  the  student,  observing  one  of  these  events,  looks 
through  it  in  two  directions,  — back  toward  state  sov- 
ereignty as  its  remote  or  immediate  cause,  and  forward 
toward  national  sovereignty  as  the  effect  it  had  on  public 
sentiment.  It  is  true  that  even  the  effects  of  these  events 
are  the  negation  of  state  sovereignty,  and  are,  therefore, 
legitimately  interpreted  by  it  until  the  growth  of  public 
sentiment  takes  on  a  positive  form  and  moves  consciously 
toward  the  sovereignty  of  the  nation.  The  genesis  of  a 
new  idea  is  often  found  in  the  negation  of  some  idea  that 
is  worn  out  or  fails  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
changed  circumstances  arising  out  of  new  conditions.  The 
old  idea,  on  account  of  its  inadequacy,  causes  a  reaction 
in  public  sentiment  against  itself  till  this  sentiment  moves 
off  in  the  direction  of  the  new  and  opposing  idea.  This  is 
just  what  took  place  in  the  transition  from  state  sovereignty 
to  national  sovereignty,  as  the  basis  of  union.  The 
movement  toward  nationality  was  well  under  way  by  1785 
and  1786,  and  the  current  was  neither  turned  aside  nor 
broken  after  this  point  had  been  reached.  The  growing 
sentiment  was  becoming  more  conscious  of  the  movement — 
not  only  of  going  away  from  the  principle  of  the  Confed- 
eration, but  of  moving  toward  a  new  goal.  The  struggle  for 


THE   GROWTH   OF   UNION.  137 

its  formal  attainment  goes  on  with  increasing  force  through 
the  convention  of  1787  and  the  ratifying  conventions  of 
the  states  in  1787  and  1788. 

The  Process  and  Material  of  Organization.  —  The  sug- 
gestion has  already  been  made  that  in  the  first  phase  of 
domestic  union  many  of  the  facts  pointed  to  a  new  form  of 
union,  and  must  be  so  interpreted.  We  do  not  violate,  but 
obey,  a  law  of  historical  growth  when  we  connect  with 
the  new  growth  some  of  the  events  that  were  found  to  be 
members  of  a  different  series  on  the  basis  of  a  different 
idea.  When  the  student  is  interpreting  events  in  the  light 
of  the  idea  of  state  sovereignty,  the  teacher  should  lead  him 
to  discover  the  tendency  of  the  new  movement  as  it  now 
and  then  appears  in  the  midst  of  other  effects.  This  is  ne- 
cessary in  order  to  compass  the  full  significance,  not  only  of 
the  facts,  but  of  the  principle  itself.  What  an  idea  like 
state  sovereignty  is  potentially  can  only  be  discovered  by 
watching  it  transform  itself  through  external  facts  into 
reality,  even  if  a  part  of  this  reality  is  the  negation  of  the 
principle  itself.  If  this  method  of  interpretation  is  ob- 
served in  transitional  periods,  or  when  two  lines  of  thought 
run  parallel  and  mutually  influence  each  other,  as  soon  as 
the  new  idea  becomes  the  dominant  one,  the  student  already 
finds  himself  in  partial  possession  of  its  beginnings.  It  is 
well  at  this  stage  to  run  back  over  such  events  with  atten- 
tion resting  solely  on  their  significance  with  reference  to 
the  new  idea.  It  may  aid  somewhat  if  we  now  gather  up 
some  of  these  facts  which  the  idea  of  national  sovereignty 
either  partly  or  completely  interprets. 


138          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

As  far  back  as  1776  the  idea  of  a  national  government 
was  suggested  by  Thomas  Paine,  and  also  by  Rutledge 
of  South  Carolina.  But  the  first  years  of  the  war  so 
unified  public  sentiment  and  effort  that  the  defects  of  the 
form  of  government  did  not  appear  in  their  completeness 
till  near  its  close.  In  1780  the  idea  met  with  frequent 
individual  and  public  expression  ;  the  Boston  convention  of 
New  England  delegates,  and,  later  in  the  year,  the  Hartford 
meeting  of  New  England  and  New  York  delegates,  called 
for  a  new  government  and  sent  a  circular  letter  to  the  states 
and  to  Washington.  In  the  same  year  Hamilton  wrote  his 
famous  Duane  letter ;  in  1781,  a  series  of  papers  called  the 
Continentalist,  a  name  suggestive  of  nationality ;  also  a  plan 
for  a  national  bank.  Paine  renewed  his  old  suggestion. 
In  the  next  year  Washington  took  a  hand  in  the  agitation, 
and  wrote  to  many  prominent  men  urging  the  need  of  a 
new  constitution.  Twice  during  this  year  congress  called 
for  larger  powers  from  the  states,  and  a  pamphlet  argued 
for  a  congress  to  frame  a  new  government;  in  1783,  the 
New  York  legislature  was  moved  to  ask  congress  to  call  a 
convention  to  revise  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  At  this 
time  it  became  fashionable  in  the  army  and  in  the  taverns 
and  coffee-houses  to  drink  the  toasts  :  "  A  hoop  to  the  barrel," 
and  "Cement  to  the  Union."  The  formation  of  the  Society 
of  the  Cincinnati,  the  agitation  over  the  cession  of  western 
lands,  and  the  proposal  of  an  impost  by  congress  also  aided 
in  molding  public  sentiment.  This  agitation  extended  over 
the  next  year,  and  to  it  may  be  added  the  influence  exerted 
by  Noah  Webster's  essays  in  favor  of  stronger  government. 


THE    GROWTH    OP    UNION.  139 

By  the  time  1785  is  reached  we  may  say  that  the  current 
was  setting  strongly  toward  nationality.  The  business  men 
of  New  York  city  called  for  adequate  powers  for  congress  ; 
the  merchants  and  mechanics  of  Boston  addressed  congress 
and  the  state  legislatures  to  urge  that  the  former  be  given 
power  over  commerce ;  the  merchants  also  opened  corres- 
pondence with  other  commercial  centers  to  enlist  them  in 
the  cause.  Governor  Bowdoin  addressed  the  General 
Court  on  the  question  and  suggested  a  convention  of  the 
states  to  consider  the  subject.  The  General  Court  re- 
solved in  favor  of  such  a  convention  and  instructed  the 
governor  to  communicate  with  other  executives,  and 
directed  their  delegates  in  congress  to  move  in  the  matter. 
In  this  same  year  the  people  of  Pennsylvania,  through  a 
popular  convention,  demanded  more  power  for  the  general 
government,  and  later  in  the  year  the  governor  and 
council  called  for  a  new  constitution.  Early  in  this  year 
of  healthy  agitation  the  commissioners  from  Maryland  and 
Virginia  met  at  Alexandria,  and,  with  the  advice  of  Wash- 
ington, agreed  to  uniform  rules  for  their  trade  —  a  work 
which  suggested  the  desirability  and  the  necessity  of  a 
wider  application  of  common  commercial  regulations. 

In  1786  came  the  Annapolis  convention  with  wider  rep- 
resentation and  with  aims  still  more  national  than  the 
Alexandria  meeting.  Hamilton  wrote  the  convention's 
report,  calling  for  a  national  convention  to  revise  the 
Articles  of  Confederation  ;  this  was  widely  circulated 
and  commanded  the  attention  of  thoughtful  men  in  all 
parts  of  the  country.  In  the  winter  of  1786  and  1787 


140         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

New  England  was  shaken  to  its  center,  and  the  rest  of 
the  states  startled,  by  the  insurrection  of  Shays  ;  this 
made  men  and  states  willing  to  go  to  a  national  conven- 
tion who  otherwise  would  not  have  gone.  The  mut-1 
terings  of  discontent  were  coming  over  the  mountains 
from  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  ;  already  the  Spaniards 
had  seized  goods  of  westerners  on  the  lower  Mississippi, 
and  General  Clarke  at  Vincennes  had  retaliated  and  was 
thought  to  be  preparing  to  attack  the  Spaniards.  These 
events  were  rapidly  consolidating  public  opinion  in  favor 
of  the  great  convention  that  was  to  meet  at  Philadelphia, 
and  no  doubt  forced  Washington  to  reconsider  his  refusal 
to  be  a  delegate.  The  state  conventions  to  ratify  the 
constitution,  and  the  events  that  were  preparatory  to 
them,  constitute  the  last  series  in  the  great  movement 
towards  national  sovereignty  as  the  basis  of  union.  They 
are  also  the  last  acts  in  the  drama  of  the  American 
Revolution.  With  their  consummation,  the  form  of  a 
nation  comes  into  being. 

The  Limit  to  the  Process  of  Organizing  a  Period.— 
With  the  close  of  the  period  under  discussion,  the  more 
formal  treatment  of  historical  organization  ceases  ;  there- 
fore the  question  of  the  limit  of  this  process  as  applied 
to  periods  may  be  properly  raised  at  this  point.  While 
no  limit  to  this  process  has  been  assigned  in  preced- 
ing discussions,  it  is  really  inferred  from  the  nature 
of  the  process  itself  that  it  must  of  necessity  come  to 
an  end  when  a  content  has  been  found  so  specific  and 
particularizing  as  to  belong  to  one  event  only.  With 


THE   GROWTH   OF    UNION.  141 

this  content  alone  in  consciousness,  the  event  or  other 
fact  stands  in  mental  isolation,  or  as  nearly  so  as  can  be. 
This  must  be,  for  we  have  seen  over  and  over  that 
resemblance  in  content  is  the  only  basis  of  organization. 
Without  it  there  is  no  integration,  and  likewise  no 
coordination  and  no  subordination ;  for  there  exists  no 
common  standard  for  testing  the  relative  value  of  events, 
therefore  no  ranking  can  occur.  This  sort  of  content 
has  little  value  except  to  give  concrete  and  individual- 
ized details.  It  must  not  be  inferred,  however,  that 
concrete  details  have  no  organizing  power.  Whether 
or  not  they  have  depends  upon  the  power  of  teacher 
and  student  to  trace  general  principles  or  phases  of 
institutional  growth  into  concrete  details.  Nothing  can 
be  more  concrete  and  individualized  than  the  ideas  of 
some  one  particular  man,  as  Roger  Sherman  in  the  conven- 
tion of  1787.  And  yet  this  concrete  and  individualized 
embodiment  may,  at  the  same  time,  be  the  sentiment  of 
a  majority  of  the  country  ;  it  is  none  the  less  concrete 
because  found  elsewhere,  and  not  the  less  universal  because 
found  in  .the  heart  and  mind  of  a  given  man.  The  iso- 
lated concrete  fact,  while  not  more  concrete  than  the 
example  just  given,  has  less  historical  value,  because  it 
cannot  aid  in  the  interpretation  of  other  concrete  facts 
like  itself.  When,  therefore,  the  interpretation  of  an 
event  proceeds  until  isolated  content  is  all  that  is 
obtained,  the  process  ought  to  cease. 

But   between   this   extreme    limit   and   what  has  been 
done  with  this  period  in  passing  from  the  most  general 


142          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

idea  of  union  down  to  the  four  coordinate  and  more  con- 
crete forms  of  union,  there  may  be  found  several  other 
shades  of  thought  and  feeling  in  each  of  these  forms. 
For  instance,  this  can  be  done  easily  for  the  first  form 
of  union  extending  from  1761  to  1775.  No  doubt  union 
to  secure  the  Rights  of  Englishmen  was  differentiated 
by  public  opinion  into  the  various  elements  that  entered 
into  the  people's  conception  of  English  rights,  such  as 
trial  by  jury,  right  of  internal  taxation,  and  finally  the 
right  to  resist  even  external  taxation  under  the  guise 
of  the  tax  on  tea.  Each  of  these  ideas  may  be  found 
as  the  content  of  a  smaller  series  of  events  than  the 
series  unified  by  the  Eights  of  Englishmen.  In  a  simi- 
lar way  it  is  quite  possible  to  discover  phases  of  thought 
and  feeling  in  the  growth  of  union  on  the  basis  of 
Eights  of  Man,  the  sovereignty  of  the  state,  and  the 
sovereignty  of  the  nation.  These  more  specific  and 
possible  forms  of  thought  and  feeling  will  not  be 
discussed  at  length  for  the  reason  that  it  is  the  aim  to 
illustrate  the  nature  and  principles  of  the  process  of 
organization  rather  than  to  deal  with  historical  material 
as  such.  It  is  believed  that  the  organization  of  the 
period  of  the  Eevolution  has  been  carried  far  enough  to 
enable  the  teacher  and  student  to  push  the  process  into 
the  more  specific  phases  already  indicated. 

The  Result.  —  If  the  teacher  has  guided  the  student 
through  the  period  by  the  light  of  the  principles  of  organi- 
zation, the  result,  on  the  side  of  knowledge,  should  stand 
as  follows  :  1.  The  facts  and  events  of  the  Eevolution 


THE   GROWTH   OF   UNION.  143 

stand  in  his  mind  united  into  a  series  by  the  presence 
of  a  common  idea  —  the  growth  of  union  ;  some  facts 
stand  out  with  great  fulness,  while  others  fade  out  of 
importance  till  they  have  hardly  a  rank  or  place  in 
the  series.  2.  His  view  of  the  ideas  and  events  of 
this  period  as  a  whole  gives  two  parts,  two  great 
series,  each  with  its  members  joined  and  ranked  by 
phases  of  the  growth  of  union.  In  the  first  of  these 
two  series,  the  animating  idea  is  union  against  England, 
and  in  the  second,  it  is  union  on  domestic  questions. 
3.  A  closer  inspection  will  show  that  the  student  has 
broken  each  of  these  phases  of  union  into  two  parts  and 
reorganized  each  part  into  a  new  series  on  a  new  basis  ; 
union  against  England  and  its  events  are  separated  into 
two  parts  :  union  for  the  Rights  of  Englishmen,  and 
union  for  the  Rights  of  Man  ;  union  on  domestic  ques- 
tions and  the  events  attending  it  are  separated  into  union 
on  basis  of  state  sovereignty,  and  union  on  the  basis  of 
national  sovereignty.  Thus  the  period  stands  in  the 
student's  mind  an  orderly  arrangement  of  ideas  of  varying 
degrees  of  generality.  Each  fact  stands  illuminated  by 
a  series  of  ideas  rising  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest. 
Each  fact  has  a  lowest  idea  that  isolates  it  from  all 
others,  and  a  higher  idea  that  gives  it  fellowship  with 
a  series  of  like  content,  and  so  on  upward  through  chang- 
ing degrees  of  generality  until  the  highest  idea  is  reached, 
an  idea  that  binds  it  to  all  the  facts  of  the  period. 

Perhaps  a  concrete  illustration  of  the  idea  of  gradations 
of  generality  in  the  content  of   historical    material   may 


144          ORGANIZATION    OF   AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

serve  to  make  it  clearer.  The  Declaration  of  Eights, 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration, and  the  Constitution  are  four  great  cardinal 
facts  in  this  period.  Each  of  these  contains  a  phase  of 
thought  that  not  only  separates  it  from  the  others,  but 
a  phase  so  specialized  as  to  take  it  out  of  any  series  to 
which  other  more  general  ideas  may  have  assigned  it. 
But  as  soon  as  we  put  into  the  Declaration  of  Eights 
the  idea  of  union  for  the  Eights  of  Englishmen,  it  imme- 
diately coalesces  with  a  wide  range  of  events  —  those 
from  1761  to  1775  —  having  the  same  content.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the 
Articles  of  Confederation,  and  the  Constitution.  If  we 
think  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  as  expressing 
the  idea  of  union  against  England,  it  and  the  other  mem- 
bers of  its  series  —  most  of  the  events  between  1775  and 
1783 — immediately  join  hands  with  the  Declaration  of 
Eights  and  its  series  of  facts,  the  two  series  thus  form- 
ing one.  We  may  find  in  the  Articles  of  Confederation 
the  idea  of  domestic  union,  and  if  we  do  so  it  and  the 
facts  of  our  history  immediately  associated  with  it 
combine  with  the  Constitution  and  its  associated  events 
so  as  to  form  a  greater  series.  If  we  look  upon  the 
Constitution  as  marking  the  progress  of  the  idea  of  union 
in  general,  it  not  only  joins  hands  with  the  Articles  of 
Confederation  and  the  two  great  Declarations,  but  also 
with  all  the  main  facts  of  the  American  Eevolution. 


PERIOD   OF   THE   DEVELOPMENT  OF  NATIONALITY. 


THE  PERIOD  AS  A  WHOLE. 

General  Nature  of  the  Period.  —  The  student  will  find 
greater  difficulty  in  discovering  the  dominant  idea  of  this 
period  than  in  the  case  of  the  Revolution.  The  movements 
in  the  preceding  period  were  rapid  ;  thought  and  passion 
centered  around  a  few  definite  propositions  and  moved 
with  such  rapidity  that  extraneous  matters  were  pushed 
aside.  The  struggle,  in  its  externals,  was  dramatic  and 
absorbing,  as  is  usually  the  case  with  revolutions.  Because 
of  this  very  intensity,  the  period  was  a  short  one,  if  meas- 
ured in  the  number  of  its  years. 

The  movement  of  ideas  in  the  new  period  is,  for  the 
most  part,  much  slower,  the  exception  being  in  its  latter 
portion.  Besides  their  more  evolutionary  growth,  ideas 
and  institutions  are  constantly  becoming  more  complex, 
and  therefore  distracting  elements  more  frequently  obtrude 
themselves.  Again,  the  period  chronologically  covers 
nearly  three  times  as  much  ground  as  the  Revolution. 
The  student  ought  to  be,  as  a  result  of  previous  experience 
with  such  problems,  far  better  prepared  to  cope  with  the 
difficulties  of  the  new  period. 


146          ORGANIZATION    OF   AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

The  Revolution  had  developed  the  form  of  a  nation,  and 
expressed  the  result  in  the  Constitution.  In  the  begin- 
ning, the  forms  set  up  by  this  instrument  did  not  have 
a  perfected  national  spirit  to  animate  them.  The  struggle 
with  England  had  produced  a  good  degree  of  national 
sentiment  on  foreign  questions,  and  the  campaign  for 
the  sovereignty  of  the  nation  as  a  basis  of  union  had 
done  much  toward  making  us  a  nation  on  purely  domes- 
tic interests.  The  growth  of  national  sentiment,  with 
reference  to  foreign  questions,  had  been  more  rapid  and 
substantial  than  on  domestic  matters.  The  Declaration 
of  Independence,  relating  primarily  to  foreign  affairs, 
was  more  nationalistic  in  its  tone  and  propositions  than 
the  Articles  of  Confederation  which  were  concerned  pri- 
marily with  domestic  questions  ;  and  the  Articles  them- 
selves conferred  more  powers  on  congress  in  regard  to 
foreign,  than  to  home,  relations.  While  the  united 
strength  of  these  two  phases  of  sentiment  did  not  really 
make  the  thirteen  states  a  nation,  yet  the  germs  of  one 
had  begun  to  take  root. 

The  loiig  struggle  in  the  constitutional  convention  and 
the  longer  and  severer  battle  for  ratification  in  the  states, 
accompanied  by  anger,  jealousy,  suspicion,  charges  of 
bad  motives,  and  threats  of  alliances,  go  to  show  that  the 
preliminary  victory  for  nationality  was  won  with  difficulty. 
It  may  aid  us  to  judge  the  true  strength  of  the  new  move- 
ment if  we  recall  that  the  Constitution  would  probably  have 
been  defeated  had  the  congress  of  the  Confederation  thrown 
its  influence  in  the  scale  against  it,  had  Washington  re- 


THE   DEVELOPMENT    OF    NATIONALITY.  147 

fused  his  support,  or  had  it  been  sent  to  the  people  for 
ratification  by  direct  vote.  But  even  as  it  was,  the  feeling 
for  stronger  government  was  not  general  enough  to  get  the 
Constitution  through  the  great  states  of  Massachusetts, 
New  York,  and  Virginia,  without  a  definite  understanding 
that  it  was  to  be  amended  quite  freely.  Again  we  see  that 
the  spirit  of  nationality  had  not  come  into  full  being,  but 
was  beginning  to  germinate.  This  spirit  requires  that  the 
people's  thought  break  over  the  narrow  limits  of  state 
lines  and  contemplate  the  broader  and  deeper  questions 
that  arise  out  of  the  life  of  the  whole.  This  broadening  of 
thought  does  not  belong  to  political  problems  alone,  but  to 
all  forms  of  institutional  life.  Questions  of  government, 
religion,  education,  and  industry  must  lay  hold  of  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  the  whole  people.  The  spirit  of 
nationality  does  not  require  the  people  to  be  a  unit  on  all 
the  details  of  organization  and  the  means  of  accomplish- 
ing specific  ends,  but  it  does  require  them  to  transfer  a 
portion  of  their  admiration  and  affection  from  the  state  and 
locality  to  the  nation  ;  that  they  love  the  good  of  the  whole 
more  than  the  narrower  interests  of  the  locality,  or  rather, 
that  they  see  the  highest  interests  of  the  state  and  neighbor- 
hood in  the  highest  good  of  the  whole.  Nationality  is  not 
only  a  sentiment  which  thrills  the  multitude  on  great  occa- 
sions, but  it  is  a  principle  of  action  for  the  statesman.  It 
is  that  principle  which  declares  that  national  functions 
shall  be  exercised  for  the  good  of  the  whole,  and  looks 
upon  the  nation  as  the  most  appropriate  and  efficient 
agent  in  the  performance  of  such  functions.  The  senti- 


148          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

ment  and  principle  are  interactive  ;  each  is  the  cause  and 
the  effect  of  the  other ;  they  rise  and  fall  together.  For 
their  perfect  manifestation  they  require  an  organism  of 
thought  and  feeling  so  sensitive  and  sympathetic  that  the 
response  of  all  the  parts  is  quick  and  perfect  when  any  por- 
tion of  the  organism  is  affected. 

It  fell  to  our  history  between  1789  and  1870  to  produce 
this  result.  It  was  in  this  time  that  the  germs  of  national 
life,  which  originated  mainly  in  the  last  phase  of  the 
Revolution,  were  so  developed  as  to  constitute  a  new  era  in 
our  institutional  evolution.  So  wide  is  its  sweep  and  deep 
its  current  that  the  stream  of  nationality  is  the  greatest, 
the  most  fundamental,  movement  that  took  place  between 
these  two  dates.  It  is  the  presence  of  this  overwhelming 
principle  and  sentiment  that  constitutes  this  a  period  in 
American  history.  There  were  other  mighty  agencies  at 
work  during  this  time  ;  some  were  in  harmony  with  nation- 
ality, and  others  were  in  deadly  conflict  with  it ;  yet  they 
were  all  either  absorbed  or  destroyed  by  this  dominant 
one. 

The  Phases  of  the  Period.  —  If  the  above  propositions 
are  true,  it  follows  that  the  growth  of  the  spirit  of  nation- 
ality is  the  organizing  idea  for  the  period,  and  that  its 
phases  will  furnish  the  organizing  principle  for  the  sub- 
periods.  These  are  as  follows : 

Relations  between  Nationality  and  Democracy,  1789-1840. 

1.  A  Period  of  Conflict,  1789-1803. 

2.  The  Mutual  Approach  of  Nationality  and  Democracy, 

1800-1820. 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  149 

3.  Fusioii  of  Nationality  and  Democracy  Working  out 
its  Results,  1816-1840. 

Relations  between  Nationality  and  Slavery,  1820-1870. 

1.  Slavery  Gradually  Grows  Hostile  to  Nationality,  1820- 

1840. 

2.  Sectionalization  of  Interests  and  Sentiments,  1835- 

1800. 

3.  Death  of  Slavery  and  Triumph  of  Nationality,  1860- 

1870. 


RELATIONS  BETWEEN  NATIONALITY  AND  DEMOCRACY. 

A  PKRIOD  OF  CONFLICT. 

The  Germs  of  the  Conflict.  —  At  the  opening  of  this 
period  only  th'e  professional  classes,  the  well-to-do,  and  the 
well-educated,  were  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  nationality ; 
and  even  these  were  not  all  thoroughly  devoted  to  this  idea, 
and  furnished  many  examples  of  opposition.  The  mass  of 
the  common  people  were  certainly  more  given  to  local 
interests  and  more  controlled  by  state  pride  than  by 
national  sentiment.  Of  course  many  of  this  class  had 
been  influenced  by  the  preceding  campaign,  and  were  in 
a  position  to  be  converted  to  nationality.  But  most  of 
them  were  inclined  to  look  with  suspicion  upon,  and  there- 
fore resent,  any  attempt  to  do  through  national  instrumen- 
talities what  had  heretofore  been  accomplished  by  local 
agencies.  At  the  same  time,  it  was  a  deep  conviction  of 


150          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

the  great  leaders  of  the  "well-born"  classes  that  the 
country's  only  hope  lay  in  extending  its  sphere  of  national 
activity. 

Under  the  above  conditions,  a  struggle  between  nation- 
ality and  democracy l  was  almost  inevitable.  This  con- 
scious conflict  is  one  of  the  differentiating  marks  of  the  first 
phase  of  nationality.  No  doubt,  as  we  shall  see,  many 
events  took  place  which  caused  nationality  to  make,  un- 
consciously, very  steady  gains.  There  are  always  these 
two  forms  of  growth,  the  conscious  and  the  unconscious, 
and  in  no  other  period  was  the  prominent  movement  more 
promoted  by  events  which  produced  non-purposed  results 
and  unintended  effects. 

Unconscious  Progress  of  National  Sentiment.  —  In  the 
opening  events  of  this  period  we  witness  no  conflict 
between  democracy  and  nationality,  but  nevertheless 
we  must  discover  how  events  contributed  to  the  general 
movement.  The  election  of  representatives,  senators,  and 
the  electoral  college  formally  opened  the  new  era.  As  the 
student  looks  into  these  events,  he  will  discover  that  in 
form  and  purpose  they  are  new,  and  without  difficulty  will 
find  their  cause  in  the  provisions  of  the  new  Constitution.2 
Probably  the  great  variety  in  election  methods  will  attract 

1  The  term  "  democracy,"  when  used  to  designate  a  political  party, 
will  be  capitalized,  but  not  when  designating  the  mass  of  plain  people, 
their  ideas  and  sentiments. 

2  Just  here  the  student  must  go  to  the  Constitution  and  read  its  provi- 
sions concerning  these  processes.    This  is  not  only  desirable  as  a  means 
to  a  proper  understanding  of  the  events,  but  it  is  the  best  way  to  study 
so-called  "Civil Government." 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  151 

his  attention.  He  should  see  that  while  electors  were 
mostly  chosen  by  state  legislatures,  in  Virginia  and  Mary- 
land they  were  elected  by  a  direct  popular  vote,  and  in  Mas- 
sachusetts by  a  mixed  method  —  two  electors  being  chosen 
by  the  people,  and  the  rest  by  the  legislature  from  twenty-' 
four  names  presented  by  congressional  districts.  In  New 
York  no  electors  were  chosen  because  the  upper  house  de- 
manded a  concurrent  vote,  while  the  lower  house  held  out 
for  a  joint  one.  The  houses  also  quarreled  in  New  Hamp- 
shire over  the  method  of  election.  The  lack  of  uniformity 
was  exhibited  in  congressional  elections.  In  New  Jersey 
one  portion  of  the  state  kept  open  the  polls  for  three  weeks 
and  only  closed  them  on  proclamation  from  the  governor. 
Connecticut  voted  twice,  first  for  three  men,  and  after- 
wards to  elect  one  of  the  three  as  a  representative.  In 
Massachusetts  some  of  the  districts  voted  twice  before 
members  could  be  elected.  What  is  the  historical  signifi- 
cance of  these  conflicting  and  contrasting  methods  ?  This 
can  be  seen  by  comparing  them  with  the  uniformity  which 
prevails  to-day,  The  difference  between  then  and  now 
reveals  the  distance  in  idea  between  the  two  periods,  and 
how  much  nationalization  has  had  to  do  in  order  to  work 
out  methods  of  election  common  to  all  portions  of  the 
nation,  and  cooperative  to  national  ends.  These  election 
processes,  however  different  in  different  places,  were  for 
common  national  ends.  The  people  of  the  whole  country 
were  made  to  engage  in  the  same  acts  at  the  same  time 
and  for  like  purposes.  The  repetition  of  this  series  of 
events  and  of  the  incidents  connected  therewith  greatly 


152          ORGANIZATION   OP    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

promoted  the  consideration  of  matters  of  common  concern, 
and  to  this  extent  broadened  the  ideas  and  sympathies  of 
the  people  —  drawing  them  away  from  the  narrower  and 
opposing  interests  of  the  community  and  the  state.  This, 
on  the  whole,  has  been  the  tendency  and  the  result  of  all 
national  elections. 

Akin  to  this  was  the  effect  of  Washington's  journey  from 
Mt.  Vernon  to  New  York  to  be  inaugurated.  It  was  a 
continuous  triumph;  in  one  place  there  were  feasts  and 
toasts,  in  another  escorts  and  processions,  and  in  a  third  a 
combination  of  these.  Decorations  of  cedar  and  laurel, 
flags  and  liberty  caps,  triumphal  arches  and  evergreen 
crowns,  bonfires  and  signal  lights,  firing  salutes  and  ring- 
ing bells,  patriotic  songs  and  appropriate  mottoes  signified 
the  people's  affection  for  the  national  hero.  The  inaugural 
ceremonies  exhibited  similar  enthusiasm  on  the  part  of 
those  present.  The  people  who  read  and  heard  of  these 
interesting  events  were  also  thrilled  with  hope  and  pride 
over  the  auspicious  beginnings  of  the  national  government. 
This  effect  upon  the  feelings  of  the  people  was,  perhaps, 
the  most  important  contribution  made  by  these  events  to 
the  history  of  the  country. 

The  Struggle  Originates  over  Domestic  Questions. — The 
stimulus  given  to  national  sentiment  by  the  above  events 
was  largely,  if  not  entirely,  unconscious.  The  people  did 
not  plan  to  develop  national  affection,  and  hardly  had  their 
attention  called  to  this  result ;  but  nevertheless,  such  was 
the  result.  The  fact  that  the  growth  was  unconscious 
proves  nothing  against  the  strength  of  the  sentiment,  for 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  153 

unconscious  growth  is  often  the  most  natural,  and  hence 
the  most  substantial  and  permanent.  We  now  come  to 
consider  a  conscious  movement.  In  this,  some  of  the 
people  formed  definite  purposes  and  called  into  being 
appropriate  agencies  for  their  realization,  while  others 
were  just  as  definitely  determined  to  oppose  and  circum- 
vent these  ends.  The  contest  over  the  leading  measures 
and  events  of  Washington's  and  Adams'  administrations 
may  be  denominated  a  contest  between  nationality  and 
democracy.  This  is  a  correct  statement  of  the  nature  of 
the  first  phase  of  development  in  the  period  of  nation- 
ality. Two  general  considerations  prove  it  :  the  nature 
of  the  ideas  in  conflict,  and  the  contrasts  between  the 
people  who  gathered  around  these  ideas.  In  the  first 
case  we  find  measures  and  means  taken  for  the  primary 
purpose  of  calling  into  vigorous  life  national  agents  and 
functions.  This  policy  was  defended  under  the  principle 
of  liberal  construction  of  the  Constitution.-  All  this  was 
strongly  combated  by  the  idea  of  local  self-government  — 
the  basal  idea  of  primitive  democracy.  As  a  feeling,  the 
fear  was  that  the  position  of  the  states  and  the  interests  of 
sections  might  become  subordinated  to  those  of  the  nation. 
The  defence  of  this  position  was  sought  in  the  principle  of 
strict  construction  of  the  Constitution,  which  was  often  in- 
terpretated  to  mean  state  sovereignty.  In  the  second  place, 
the  people  composing  the  opposition  belonged  to  what  is 
often  called  the  democracy, — the  people  in  the  humbler 
walks  of  life  who,  by  experience,  are  strongly  attached 
to  localities.  The  people  supporting  the  measures  of 


154          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

national  import  included  the  majority  of  the  well-to-do 
and  the  educated  classes.  From  interest,  education,  and 
experience,  this  portion  of  the  people  was  better  fitted  to 
take  broad  views  of  governmental  questions  than  their 
opponents. 

In  this  contest  the  presence  of  two  classes  of  events  will 
be  observed, — those  relating  to  domestic  affairs  and  those 
concerning  foreign  relations.  The  work  and  measures  of 
Hamilton  may  be  properly  regarded  as  precipitating  the 
conflict  of  ideas  alluded  to  above.  These  were  a  tariff  and 
excise,  the  funding  and  assumption  bills,  and  a  United 
States  bank  and  mint.  An  examination  of  the  contro- 
versy over  the  tariff  will  reveal  that  its  immediate  pur- 
pose was  to  obtain  revenue  sufficient  to  meet  the  pressing 
needs  of  the  government,  and  that  another  purpose  was 
hardly  secondary  to  this  :  to  "  give  a  just  and  decided 
preference  to  our  labors."  Over  the  first  object  but  little 
dispute  occurred,  its  aim  being  so  clearly  just  and  neces- 
sary ;  but  the  question  of  protection  aroused  animated  dis- 
cussion. The  conduct  of  congress  demonstrated  the  fact 
that  a  power  had  arisen  capable,  by  its  decisions,  of  doing 
great  good  to  some  national  interests,  and  perhaps  harm 
to  others.  The  result  was  that  as  many  interests  as  pos- 
sible tied  themselves  thus  early  to  the  nation  and  became, 
perforce,  the  supporters  of  the  administration  and  the 
nationalistic  view  of  the  functions  of  government.  The 
opposition  to  the  tariff  was  not  so  much  against  the 
principle  as  because  of  certain  interests  which  would  be 
affected  unfavorably.  Whatever  may  be  thought  about 


NATIONALITY    AND   DEMOCRACY.  155 

the  policy  of  discriminating  between  foreign  and  domestic 
goods,  and  whatever  may  have  been  the  arguments  pro  and 
con  used  at  this  time  or  at  any  other  time,  two  things  must 
be  clearly  in  mind  in  order  to  reach  a  correct  appreciation 
of  the  historical  meaning  of  the  tariff.  Certain  industrial 
interests  were  linking  themselves  to  the  nation  and  were 
bidding  for  national  favor,  and  both  friend  and  foe  to  the 
tariff  in  these  debates,  in  or  out  of  congress,  aided  in  for- 
cing upon  the  attention  of  the  people  questions  of  general 
as  well  as  of  local  concern,  and  thus  contributed  to  awaken 
a  national  consciousness. 

But  the  feeling  over  the  tariff  was  tame  as  compared 
with  the  passion  engendered  by  the  funding  and  assump- 
tion bills.  These  measures  were  explained  before  congress 
early  in  1790,  and  included  plans  for  paying  the  foreign 
and  domestic  debts  and  also  the  state  debts  incurred  during 
the  War  of  the  Revolution.  The  plans  for  the  payment 
of  the  foreign  debt  met  with  little  or  no  opposition.  The 
foreign  debt  seemed  one  of  honor  and  gratitude  owed  to 
friendly  nations,  but  somehow  the  home  debt  was  not  quite 
in  the  same  category.  Many,  in  and  out  of  congress, 
argued  against  paying  the  face  value  of  the  obligation  to 
the  present  holders.  Discussions  on  this  point  began  to 
reveal  two  classes  of  persons, — moneyed  men  and  specula- 
tors, and  the  original  holders  of  the  debt,  many  of  whom 
were  farmers  and  laborers  and  former  soldiers.  Their 
interests  were  supposed  to  clash,  and  some  ground  for  this 
appeared  in  the  fact  that  men  of  small  means  had  been 
compelled  to  part  with  their  certificates,  and  that  even 


156          ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

then  speculators  were  scouring  the  country  in  search  of 
continental  promises  still  held  by  the  people  of  the  back 
districts.  But  in  the  interest  of  the  nation's  credit,  con- 
gress voted  the  measure  without  any  distinction  between 
the  original  and  the  present  holder  of  the  certificate. 
Just  as  the  vote  on  the  foreign  debt  raised  America  in  the 
eyes  of  foreign  countries,  so  the  success  of  this  measure 
demonstrated  the  absolute  fidelity  of  the  nation  to  its 
home  creditors,  and  immediately  gave  our  own  citizens 
concrete  proof  of  the  strength  of  the  new  government. 

The  assumption  of  the  state  debts  aroused  the  strongest 
opposition  yet  encountered.  The  public  took  an  interest 
in  the  contest,  the  newspapers  were  often  filled  with  com- 
munications on  the  subject,  and  even  threats  of  disunion 
were  made.  Here  was  pressed  the  argument  of  strict 
construction  as  a  means  of  opposition  and  of  protection  to 
the  interests  of  localities.  The  debates  went  on  with 
varying  effects  during  the  spring  and  summer  of  1790,  and 
the  bill  was  finally  passed  by  means  of  an  agreement  be- 
tween Hamilton  and  Jefferson  that  eastern  votes  should 
give  the  national  capital  to  the  South,  and  southern  votes 
should  carry  the  assumption  of  the  state  debts.  Out  of 
this  conflict  came  two  enduring  results :  1.  The  location 
and  establishment  of  the  capital  whose  life  and  environ- 
ment testify  to  the  aspiration  of  the  people  after  a  truly 
national  existence,  and  where  there  is  gathered  the  external 
evidence  of  a  national  organization.  2.  The  conscious- 
ness that  the  assumption  bill  was  a  purposed  and  extraor- 
dinary stretch  of  national  authority.  This  result  gave 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  157 

satisfaction  to  some  and  alarm  to  others.  Virginia's  legis- 
lature voted  that  assumption  was  "  dangerous  to  the  rights 
of  the  people." 

After  assumption,  the  nation  needed  more  revenue  than 
the  tariff  supplied.  Hamilton  proposed  an  excise  on  dis- 
tilled liquors.  It  met  opposition,  but  not  on  the  ground 
of  being  unconstitutional,  for  the  strict  constructionist 
could  find  the  very  word  "excise"  in  the  Constitution. 
^Nevertheless,  the  people  who  were  coming  to  accept  this 
view  of  the  Constitution  were  the  opponents  of  the  new 
measure.  The  ground  of  opposition  was  fundamentally 
the  same  as  that  against  assumption,  —  the  desire  to  pre- 
vent the  extension  of  national  authority.  They  saw  in 
this  new  law  a  very  great  increase  in  the  number  of  gov- 
ernment officials  who  would  go  prying  around  the  country 
and  into  the  private  business  of  many  people.  The  bill 
passed  in  1791,  and  in  1794  the  opposition  of  people  of 
western  Pennsylvania,  encouraged  by  sympathizers  in 
other  states,  resisted  the  collection  of  the  excise  till  the 
militia,  summoned  by  national  authority,  suppressed  the 
Whiskey  Rebellion.  While  the  national  authority  was 
thus  vindicated  by  force  of  arms,  the  opposition  began  to 
consolidate  itself  more  and  more. 

The  last  of  Hamilton's  great  financial  plans  was  a  United 
States  bank.  More  than  the  other  measures  did  this  call 
into  exercise  the  implied  powers  of  the  Constitution,  and 
bind  the  business  interests  more  firmly  to  the  government. 
In  that  time,  before  the  unwritten  Constitution  was  thought 
of,  it  certainly  was  an  unusual  exercise  of  power  to  call  a 


158          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

bank  into  existence  to  carry  out  the  nation's  right  to  raise 
revenue  and  pay  the  debts  of  the  United  States.  The 
provisions  of  the  law  made  the  government  a  stockholder, 
and  permitted  it  to  borrow  $100,000  from  the  bank.  The 
bank  was  to  have  no  national  rival,  and  could  greatly  aid 
the  government  in  making  loans,  and  aid  business  by  estab- 
lishing .branches  in  leading  business  centers.  The  oppo- 
sition was  intense.  Even  Madison  began  to  use  the  principle 
of  strict  construction,  and  Jefferson  exerted  his  influence 
to  organize  opposition  and  secure  a  veto  of  the  bill. 

As  the  effects  of  these  measures  began  to  work  out,  and 
the  immediate  and  remote  purposes  of  their  friends  and 
opponents  became  clearer,  the  people  began  to  divide 
among  themselves  and  gather  around  leaders.  "  While 
conservatives,  aristocrats,  the  commercial  class,  the  timor- 
ous, and  the  friends  of  powerful  rule  thus  gravitated  toward 
Hamilton,  .  .  .  the  liberty -loving,  those  jealous  of  class 
supremacy  and  court  manners,  they  who  detested  money- 
changers and  the  new  methods  of  growing  rich,  together 
with  the  floating  remnants  of  the  Anti-Federal  and  State 
Rights  party,  were  irresistibly  attracted  toward  Jefferson." 
This  growing  separation  into  parties  is  further  made 
apparent  by  the  establishment  of  partisan  papers.  Thus 
Hamilton's  policy  created  a  great  contest  between  nation- 
ality and  democracy.  This  is  the  all-inclusive  result, 
and  will  translate  and  explain  more  events  than  any  other 
movement  of  that  time. 

The  Progress  of  the  Conflict  over  Foreign  Relations.  — 
The  discussion  which  follows,  like  the  one  on  domestic 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  159 

questions,  does  not  purport  to  be  a  complete  history  of 
these  events,  and  deals  with  only  so  much  of  incident  and 
detail  as  is  necessary  to  show  the  progress  of  this  inter- 
esting struggle  and  the  evolution  of  its  resultant,  —  a  rising 
nation.  Before  the  conflict  between  nationality  and  democ- 
racy had  fully  developed,  a  new  element  injected  itself 
into  the  controversy, . —  the  war  between  France  and  Eng- 
land. This  war  grew  out  of  the  progress  of  the  French 
Revolution.  The  American  people  were  sympathetic  spec- 
tators from  the  very  beginning  of  this  revolution,  because 
France  seemed  to  be  following  the  example  which  she  had 
so  generously  aided  in  establishing  in  America.  At  the 
first  appearance  of  French  extravagance  those  Americans 
who  followed  Hamilton  and  strong  government  began  to 
lose  sympathy  with  the  Revolution,  and  were  ready  when 
war  came  to  sympathize  with  England.  The  more  demo- 
cratic among  our  people  were  only  made  stronger  friends  of 
France  by  the  fact  of  war  against  England  and  the  rising 
opposition  at  home.  Our  treaty  relations  with  France, 
the  arrival  of  a  French  minister,  and  the  growing  differ- 
ences among  Americans  induced  Washington  and  his 
cabinet  to  issue  the  famous  Proclamation  of  Neutrality. 
This  document  in  effect  announced  to  the  world  our  deter- 
mination to  stand  aloof  from  European  complications,  and 
was  consequently  the  herald  of  a  rising  confidence  in  the 
ability  of  the  new  nation  to  maintain  its  place  without  the 
support  of  any  European  ally.  It  thus  planted  the  germ 
of  a  permanent  foreign  policy  which  ultimately  made  us 
really  an  independent  people.  The  Declaration  of  Inde- 


160          ORGANIZATION    OP   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

pendence  was  the  expression  of  an  intense  desire  for 
political  separation  from  England.  The  war  made  this 
an  objective  fact.  But  both  could  not  destroy  America's 
dependence  upon  Europe;  the  colonial  habit  could  not  be 
thus  easily  eradicated.  Looking  backward,  the  proclama- 
tion was  a  new  declaration  of  independence,  while  looking 
forward,  it  was  a  new  prophecy  of  nationality.  The  imme- 
diate result,  however,  was  to  disappoint  France  and  her 
friends  and  to  please  her  enemies.  The  passing  public 
sentiment  was  with  France  and  against  England,  and  the 
people  joined  with  enthusiasm  in  the  demonstrations  con- 
nected with  the  reception  of  Genet,  the  French  minister. 
The  latter  cultivated  successfully  the  feeling  against 
England  and  tried  to  turn  the  public  against  the  proc- 
lamation and  its  enforcement,  and  finally  against  Wash- 
ington's administration.  He  failed,  lost  public  esteem, 
and  was  superseded.  A  great  deal  of  significance  must 
attach  to  the  fact  that  while  the  majority  of  the  people 
took  sides  with  France  against  England  in  a  way  to  sug- 
gest little  national  self-respect,  yet  when  called  upon  by 
the  conduct  of  Genet  to  choose  between  Genet  and  France 
on  the  one  hand,  and  Washington  and  America  on  the  other, 
the  decision  was  prompt  and  patriotic  for  that  day.1  The 
full  significance  of  this  reaction,  as  it  expressed  itself  in  the 
great  cities  in  public  demonstrations  to  uphold  Washington 

1  Historians  have  often  set  forth  those  facts  as  proof  of  our  depend- 
ence; upon  European  standards  as  they  are,  but  more  often  have  they 
failed  to  give  full  significance  to  this  reaction.  The  one  interpre- 
tation discovers  the  past  and  the  other  the  future  in  these  events. 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  161 

and  neutrality,  can  be  more  fully  appreciated  when  we  re- 
member that  support  of  France  and  opposition  to  England 
were  now  an  article  in  the  creed  of  the  opposition  party. 

The  more  radical  members  of  the  democratic  societies 
were  never  enthusiastic  over  neutrality.  These  organiza- 
tions sprang  into  existence  with  the  coming  of  Genet,  in 
imitation  of  the  French  Jacobin  clubs.  They  affected  to 
believe  themselves  the  true  disciples  of  the  Rights  of  Man, 
and  that  the  hope  of  Europe  hung  on  the  success  of  the 
French  Revolution.  No  doubt  this  affiliation  with  France 
retarded  the  success  of  neutrality,  yet  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  these  societies  also  aimed  to  make  America  more 
democratic.  Their  fundamental  cause  lies  in  the  growing 
conflict  between  nationality  and  democracy.  They  would 
have  had  no  existence  if  there  had  not  been  a  body  of 
men  of  opposite  ideas  and  purposes,  and  who  were  looked 
upon  as  favoring  less  democracy,  if  not  more  aristocracy, 
in  the  government  of  America.  These  societies  became  the 
severest  critics  of  the  administration  and  encouraged  the 
Whiskey  Rebellion.  They  possessed  the  virtues  and  de- 
fects of  mad  enthusiasts  over  ideas  necessary  for  the  com- 
plete development  of  American  nationality,  and  were  also 
the  angry  opponents  of  an  idea  whose  union  with  democ- 
racy was  necessary  to  the  latter's  permanent  and  healthy 
existence  on  this  continent. 

The  contribution  to  nationality  made  by  our  relations  with 
France  was  greatly  influenced  by  our  relations  with  Eng- 
land. Troubles  with  England  had  come  down  through  the 
Confederation.  She  refused  to  carry  out  some  of  the  pro- 


162         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

visions  of  the  treaty  of  1783,  and  to  give  up  her  illiberal 
commercial  policy.  In  addition,  the  war  in  Europe  made 
it  desirable  for  her  to  confiscate  American  commerce  of  any 
kind  with  France  and  French  colonies,  and  also  to  search 
American  vessels  for  English-born  sailors.  This  injury  to 
property  and  persons  sailing  under  the  American  flag 
aroused  great  indignation  against  England  in  1793  and 
1794.  Measures  of  retaliation  were  proposed  in  congress, 
and  a  temporary  embargo  was  passed.  President  Wash- 
ington sent  Chief  Justice  Jay  to  England  to  arrange 
matters.  This  mission  made  the  democracy  in  the  country 
furious,  as  they  could  discover  in  it  all  sorts  of  danger  to 
America,  insults  to  France,  and  truckling  to  England.  Un- 
fortunately the  treaty  itself  could  easily  be  taken  as  proof 
of  all  this.  The  senate  confirmed  the  treaty  after  a  hard 
fight,  but  popular  feeling  was  so  strong  against  Hamilton 
that  he  was  in  danger  from  mobs  ;  Jay  was  burned  in 
effigy,  and  Washington  himself  was  vilified.  The  treaty 
perhaps  saved  us  from  war  at  that  time.  But  while  it 
promoted  partisanship,  it  taught  the  friends  of  England 
that  she  was  not  likely  to  be  at  all  generous  while  dealing 
with  American  interests.  England  missed  a  great  oppor- 
tunity to  restore  to  some  extent  the  sympathy  lost  in 
the  Revolution  ;  but  she  began  to  teach  Americans  the 
lesson  they  needed  most  to  learn  :  that  nothing  but  self- 
interest  would  control  European  nations  in  dealing  with 
America.  Of  course  this  lesson  was  not  fully  mastered 
till  we  had  another  experience  with  France,  and  a  decisive 
one  with  England  during  the  War  of  1812. 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  163 

The  second  experience  with  France  was  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  John  Adams.  The  French  had  indulged  in  the 
pastime  of  capturing  American  vessels,  and  now  looked 
upon  Jay's  treaty  as  an  insult.  They  also  resented  the 
recall  of  Minister  Monroe — a  Democrat — and  refused  to 
receive  C.  C.  Pinckney  instead,  or  any  other  minister,  till 
their  alleged  injuries  had  been  atoned.  In  1797  Gerry 
and  Marshall  were  sent  to  join  Pinckne}*.  The  Directory 
kept  them  waiting  while  its  agents  X,  Y,  and  Z  tried  to 
secure  a  bribe  of  £50,000  as  the  condition  of  French  favor. 
The  ringing  message  of  President  Adams  and  the  publica- 
tion of  the  X,  Y,  Z  correspondence  kindled  a  flame  of 
indignation.  Democratic  friendship  for  France  was  almost 
silenced;  democracy  was  beginning  to  learn  its  lesson. 
Measures  for  war  were  rapidly  pushed  forward  in  the 
spring  and  summer  of  1798  ;  they  included  a  land  force 
with  Washington  as  commander-in-chief,  and  a  further 
equipment  of  the  navy.  The  war  spirit  ran  high,  and 
addresses  of  congratulation  and  expressions  of  enthusi- 
astic support  poured  in  on  President  Adams.  Great 
demonstrations  were  held  to  testify  the  people's  resent- 
ment against  France  and  their  approval  of 'the  president's 
spirited  conduct.  The  black  cockade  superseded  the 
French  tricolor  in  popular  favor,  and  the  elections  of 
1798  indicated  a  rising  Federal  tide.  Subscriptions  to 
extreme  democratic  papers  fell  off,  particularly  in  the  case 
of  the  Aurora,  which  had  advocated  compliance  with  the 
corrupt  demands  of  the  Directory.  This  whole  experience 
taught  Jefferson  and  his  Democratic-Kepublicans  that 


164         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

little  good  and  great  harm  were  likely  to  result  to  their 
party  from  partisanship  for  France.  While  the  term 
"French  party"  was  still  applied  to  them,  yet  from  this 
time  on  it  had  little  justification. 

Rapid  Development  of  Anti-Democratic  Sentiment  among 
the  Federalists.  —  The  Federalists  now  became  over-confi- 
dent as  they  saw  themselves  floating  into  power  again  on  a 
wave  of  popularity.  They  thought  the  reaction  an  approval 
of  their  principles,  while  it  was  rather  an  expression  of 
national  feeling  against  France.  When,  therefore,  they 
tried  to  transform  this  into  a  condemnation  of  the  demo- 
cratic spirit  of  their  opponents,  they  wrought  their  own 
destruction.  Three  measures  were  passed  by  congress  in 
1798  to  accomplish  this  end :  1.  An  amendment  to  the 
naturalization  law,  extending  the  term  of  preliminary  resi- 
dence from  five  to  fourteen  years.  The  Federalists  feared 
the  presence  of  foreigners,  but  this  fear  would  have  been 
very  slight  if  these  foreigners  had  been  enrolling  them- 
selves under  the  banner  of  strong  government.  2.  An  act 
concerning  aliens  which  gave  the  president  power  to  order 
them  to  depart  from  our  country  if  he  considered  them 
dangerous  to  its  welfare.  Disobedience  to  his  decree  was 
punishable  by  imprisonment,  and  forfeiture  of  citizenship 
forever.  3.  An  act  to  punish  citizens  by  fine  and  impris- 
onment for  opposing  the  national  administration  by  combi- 
nation or  by  scandalous  or  malicious  writing.  This  act 
demonstrated  thorough  distrust  of  freedom  of  discussion 
and  of  the  tendencies  of  American  democracy.  These  acts, 
and  the  attempts  to  enforce  the  last  one,  mark  the  extreme 


NATIONALITY    AND    DEMOCRACY.  165 

application  of  national  authority  by  the  adherents  of  strong 
government  to  protect  it  against  the  opposition.  The  re- 
action expressed  in  the  election  of  Jefferson  in  1800 
showed  that  the  people  were  no  more  ready  to  follow  the 
attempt  to  suppress  democracy  than  they  were  to  support 
the  friends  of  France  in  1798.  The  instincts  and  judg- 
ment of  the  people  were  entirely  correct  in  refusing  to 
follow  either,  for  the  perpetuity  of  the  nation  demanded 
that  nationality  should  become  democratic,  as  well  as  that 
democracy  should  become  nationalistic. 

The  immediate  result  of  this  legislation  was  the  Ken- 
tucky and  Virginia  resolutions,  prepared  by  Jefferson  and 
Madison,  and  passed  by  their  legislatures.  They  pro- 
tested against  the  Alien  and  Sedition  laws,  set  forth  the 
nature  of  the  national  government,  and  deduced  therefrom 
the  grounds  of  opposition.  There,  were  three  main  points 
to  each  :  1.  The  Constitution  is  a  compact  between  sover- 
eign states,  and  the  national  government  is  one  of  limited 
and  specified  powers.  2.  The  sovereign  states  are  the 
judges  of  violations  of  the  compact.  3.  In  cases  of  pal- 
pable and  dangerous  violations  it  is  the  duty  of  the  states 
to  "interpose,"  said  Virginia,  and  "nullify,"  said  Ken- 
tucky. These  resolutions  were  the  most  extreme  assertion 
as  yet  made  of  the  principle  of  state  sovereignty  as  a 
means  of  protecting  democracy  in  its  struggle  for  existence. 
While  they  called  the  attention  of  the  country,  in  an  official 
way,  to  the  dangers  of  the  new  legislation,  the  people  did 
not  rally  enthusiastically  to  their  support.  In  fact,  not 
another  legislature  voted  them  as  the  sentiment  of  its 


166          ORGANIZATION    OY    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

state,  while  several  condemned  them.  It  was  thus  toler- 
ably evident  that  one  extreme  was  offsetting  the  other. 

In  spite  of  the  reaction  against  the  Alien  and  Sedition 
laws,  the  Federalists  were  in  favor,  in  1799  and  1800,  of 
keeping  up  a  good  military  and  naval  force  and  of  extend- 
ing the  scope  of  the  national  judiciary.  The  latter  was 
accomplished  by  a  national  bankrupt  act  which  gave 
district  courts  plenty  of  work,  and  by  a  bill  which  estab- 
lished circuit  courts,  circuit  judges,  and  provided  facilities 
for  appeals  from  state  to  national  courts.  These  measures 
showed  a  determination  to  strengthen  national  authority  as 
far  as  possible  against  the  rising  tide  of  democracy.  In 
fact  this  last  measure  was  passed  after  Jefferson's  election, 
and  the  appointments  under  it  were  incomplete  when  Jef- 
ferson took  his  seat.  The  extension  of  the  national  judi- 
ciary and  the  appointment  of  John  Marshall  as  Chief 
Justice  exerted  a  powerful  influence  in  preventing  real 
injury  to  the  national  system  by  the  success  of  Jefferson's 
anti-national  followers  ;  and  while  the  repeal  of  many 
measures  could  not  be  hindered,  yet  Marshall  and  his  de- 
cisions did  make  impossible  any  application  of  the  Ken- 
tucky and  Virginia  resolutions. 

The  Triumph  of  Democracy. — The  political  battle  in 
1800  was  another  phase  of  the  contest  between  nationality 
and  democracy.  It  was  the  first  organized  and  successful 
effort  of  the  latter  to  get  hold  of  the  machinery  by  means  of 
which  their  opponents  had  wielded  power.  The  conscious 
effort  to  get  control  had  grown  steadily  since  Jefferson 
left  Washington's  cabinet,  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 


NATIONALITY    AND    DEMOCRACY.  167 

reaction  in  1798,  the  people  were  slowly  moving  toward 
Jefferson  and  democracy.  The  campaign  of  1800  was 
contested  with  great  passion,  and  each  party  professed  to 
see,  in  the  success  of  the  other,  great  danger  to  the  country. 
The  causes  of  the  defeat  of  the  Federal  party  were  :  1. 
The  aristocratic  tendencies  of  its  leaders  which  led  some  of 
the  common  people  who  followed  them  for  a  time  finally  to 
desert  for  more  congenial  associations.  Not  only  did  these 
leaders  believe  in  and  advocate  government  by  means  of 
position  and  influence,  but  they  scarcely  tried  to  conceal 
their  distrust  of  the  common  people.  2.  An  excessive 
dependence  upon  national  power,  and  the  knowledge  that 
many  Federal  leaders  advocated  its  further  extension,  even 
to  invading  what  was  then  supposed  to  belong  to  the  re- 
served rights  of  the  states.  This  policy,  as  it  appeared  in 
efforts  at  legislation,  was  the  logical  result  of  the  preceding 
cause.  3.  The  presence  of  irreconcilable  factions  in  the 
party  —  one  clustering  around  Hamilton,  the  other  sup- 
porting President  Adams.  This  fact  of  itself  was  proof  of 
the  degeneracy  of  the  party  that  had  done  a  noble  work  in 
establishing  national  power.  In  the  long,  hard  battle  its 
habits  had  become  so  set  that  democratic  measures  of  a 
moderate  sort  found  little  support  in  its  ranks.  This  fail- 
ure to  appreciate  and  acquiesce  in  the  popular  decision  was 
shown  in  the  intrigues  over  the  choice  of  a  president  by 
the  representatives.  No  one  doubted  that  Jefferson  was 
meant  for  the  first  place  by  his  party,  but  still  the  result 
was  long  delayed,  and  if  moderate  counsel  had  not  pre- 
vailed among  the  Federalists,  it  is  hard  to  say  what  the 


168         ORGANIZATION   OP    AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

result  would  have  been.  This  last  episode  rendered  them 
more  unpopular  with  the  masses. 

The  defeat  of  the  Federalists  was  not  the  death  of 
nationality.  The  success  of  the  Republicans  was  not  the 
triumph  of  the  extreme  principles  of  their  party.  What- 
ever pledges  they  had  made  must  now  be  modified  by  the 
fact  that  they  are  to  work  through  national  machinery. 
The  operation  of  this  machinery  could  not  be  obstructed, 
for  this  would  discredit  the  party.  Besides,  what  harm 
could  come  to  democracy  while  its  leaders  were  in  con- 
trol ?  Jefferson's  inaugural  was  such  as  to  allay  fears  of 
reactionary  measures,  and  to  indicate  a  purpose  to  win 
over  the  moderates  of  the  opposition.  This  was  not  for 
purposes  hostile  to  the  nation,  for  Jefferson  wrote  that  he 
wished  "  to  restore  that  harmony  which  our  predecessors 
so  wickedly  made  it  their  object  to  break,  to  render  us 
again  one  people,  acting  as  one  nation."  His  moderation 
is  further  revealed  in  his  inaugural  by  the  statement  in 
regard  to  the  proper  position  of  the  state  and  national 
governments  :  "  The  support  of  the  state  governments  in 
all  their  rights  as  the  most  competent  administrations  for 
our  domestic  concerns,  and  the  surest  bulwarks  against 
anti-republican  tendencies ;  the  preservation  of  the  gen- 
eral government  in  its  whole  constitutional  vigor  as  the 
sheet  anchor  of  our  peace  at  home  and  safety  abroad." 
The  above  quotations  are  the  keynote  to  his  moderation 
in  making  removals  from  office,  and  the  middle  course 
the  party  took  in  carrying  out  its  policy. 

Three  reforms  were  immediately  undertaken :  1.  Repeal 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  169 

of  the  law  extending  the  Federal  courts,  and  the  impeach- 
ment of  obnoxious  judges.  The  former  was  accomplished, 
but  the  latter  was  only  partially  successful.  It  was  found 
impossible  to  secure  the  conviction  of  so  bitter  a  partisan 
as  Judge  Chase..  The  failure  to  intimidate  the  judiciary 
left  the  national  system  impregnable,  and  taught  the 
extreme  Republicans  their  limitations.  2.  The  repeal  of 
internal  taxes.  This  included  Hamilton's  excise  and  a 
sort  of  stamp  duty  passed,  under  danger  of  war,  in  Adams' 
administration.  We  have  already  seen  how  the  people 
resented  this  form  of  taxation  and  objected  to  the  burden 
imposed.  This  necessitated  great  retrenchment  in  national 
expenditures.  The  civil  service,  the  army,  and  the  navy 
were  largely  cut  down.  The  democratic  idea  of  govern- 
ment, as  well  as  economy,  called  for  some  reform.  3.  The 
naturalization  law  was  restored  to  its  former  condition, 
thus  proving  democracy  the  friend  of  the  foreigner  who 
sought  a  home  in  America.  A  fourth  proof  of  democratic 
spirit  was  given  by  Jefferson  himself  when  he  abolished 
the  forms  and  ceremonies  that  had  grown  up  between 
the  legislative  and  executive  departments,  and  simplified 
or  abolished  social  affairs  connected  with  his  office.  Jef- 
ferson thoroughly  opposed  courtly  ceremonial  and  official 
parade  as  entirely  inconsistent  with  republicanism.  He 
determined  to  set  the  example  himself  of  one  who  ruled 
a  great  people  by  the  merit  of  his  work,  and  not  by  the 
external  trappings  so  characteristic  of  the  governments 
of  Europe. 

The   popularity  of  these  measures  and  of  Jefferson's 


170          ORGANIZATION    OF   AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

general  conduct  was  rapidly  demonstrated  by  the  constant 
accessions  to  his  party.  His  whole  policy  made  it  evident 
that  his  opponents  had  intentionally  misrepresented  him 
and  his  party,  or  had  misunderstood  the  intention  and 
spirit  of  democracy. 


MUTUAL  APPROACH  OF  NATIONALITY  AND  DEMOCRACY. 

General  Features  of  this  Phase.  — Long  ago  the  student 
must  have  discovered  that  at  the  very  point  of  triumph 
in  the  movement  of  an  idea,  a  new  phase  of  it  begins  to 
take  form.  Gradually  democracy  and  nationality  cease 
to  battle  against  each  other,  and  more  and  more  find  the 
highest  good  of  one  to  be  the  greatest  good  of  the  other. 
The  changed  circumstances  and  relations  wrought  by  the 
preceding  struggle  made  its  continuance  well-nigh  impos- 
sible. First,  we  have  seen  that  democracy  has  not  always 
been  hostile  to  a  reasonable  national  patriotism,  although 
their  opponents  so  argued.  Secondly,  the  Federalists  were 
now  an  opposition  party,  and  it  would  be  very  awkward 
for  them  to  oppose  the  new  administration  by  urging  it 
to  a  more  vigorous  exercise  of  national  power.  In  fact, 
they  soon  became  anti-national  themselves,  and  advocated 
strict  construction  of  the  Constitution.  They  thus  aban- 
doned their  old  ground  to  their  opponents.  Thirdly,  the 
development  of  great  national  parties  forced  upon  the 
attention  of  the  people  a  constant  study  of  questions  of 
national  import.  Unless  the  democracy  of  the  country 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  171 

could  develop  common  sympathies  over  common  objects, 
it  could  not  maintain  itself.  Local  interests  and  objects 
might  do  as  the  basis  for  an  opposition ;  but  after  victory, 
what  then  ?  Very  evidently  the  party  must  enter  on  a 
well-defined  policy,  and  bring  into  harmonious  coopera- 
tion all  its  elements  of  support.  Mere  party  success, 
therefore,  tended  to  call  into  being  an  organization  with 
national  features.  In  the  fourth  place,  the  very  com- 
plete success  of  Jefferson's  party  in  both  state  and 
nation,  by  the  close  of  his  first  administration,  placed  a 
vast  responsibility  on  its  shoulders.  How  could  this 
best  be  met  ?  Not  by  refusing  to  use  power,  but  by  its 
vigorous  exercise. 

The  democratic  leaders  did  not  consciously  aim  to  cen- 
tralize power,  but  the  circumstances  named  above  were 
against  them,  and  the  future  opened  up  opportunities 
and  duties  that  could  be  met  in  no  other  way.  In 
spite  of  these  controlling  circumstances,  the  leaders  still 
continued  to  make  their  political  confessions  in  terms  of 
strict  construction.  The  explanation  is  partly  found  in 
the  fact  that  the  circumstances  of  the  new  situation  were 
not  correctly  divined,  and  that  the  growth  of  interest 
among  the  masses  in  national  questions  and  their  readier 
response  to  the  sentiment  of  nationality  were  largely 
unconscious.  This  is  particularly  true  of  the  movement 
up  to  the  War  of  1812.  From  this  date  till  1820  the  people 
are  more  and  more  conscious  that  the  old  Jeffersonian 
democracy  is  moving  in  new  directions.  In  the  analysis 
and  interpretation  of  this  new  phase  of  the  relation  between 


172         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

nationality  and  democracy,  the  narration  of  events  will  be 
omitted  as  far  as  possible,  since  the  only  purpose  is  to 
reveal  to  the  student  the  process  by  which  these  two  forces 
began  to  approach  each  other. 

The   Purchase  of    Louisiana   (1803) This   was  the 

greatest  event  of  Jefferson's  administration,  and,  because 
of  its  effect  upon  nationality,  may  properly  be  taken  as 
opening  the  new  movement.  After  the  leading  incidents 
of  the  purchase  are  in  hand,  attention  must  be  turned  to 
the  bearing  of  the  event  on  the  problem  before  us.  1.  The 
fact  of  the  purchase  is  of  itself  positive  evidence  of  the 
vast  development  in  national  sentiment  already  accom- 
plished. No  such  an  acquisition  of  foreign  territory  was 
possible  under  the  Confederation,  and  this  may  be  taken 
as  a  measure  of  the  distance  national  sentiment  has  trav- 
eled since  1789.  2.  The  purchase  produced  a  profound 
effect  upon  the  settlers  of  the  Southwest  by  checking 
their  growing  hostility  to  the  national  government.  The 
Federalists  had  neglected  them,  and  more  than  once  had 
they  talked  of  setting  up  for  themselves.  Now  their 
interests  were  secure  from  foreigners  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  their  commerce  moved  unchecked 
to  the  Gulf  and  the  Atlantic  states.  Commercial  connec- 
tion was  no  small  factor  in  binding  these  people  to  the 
rest  of  the  Union.  The  strength  of  this  growth  and  its 
value  to  the  Union  were  put  to  the  test  when  Burr  formed 
his  conspiracy.  Had  his  expedition  been  made  earlier 
while  this  hardy  people  was  disaffected  it  might  have  been 
successful,  but  coming  after  the  purchase  it  was  easily  a 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  173 

failure.  3.  The  possession  of  land  beyond  the  Mississippi 
gave  added  weight  to  arguments  for  a  system  of  internal 
improvement,  and  no  doubt  influenced  the  construction  of 
the  great  National  Koad,  whose  eventual  western  terminus 
was  near  St.  Louis.  The  whole  project  of  internal  improve- 
ment, both  proposed  and  accomplished,  did  much  toward 
knitting  the  parts  of  the  nation  together.  The  possession 
of  the  Mississippi  with  its  tributaries  gave  an  unlimited 
opportunity  to  Fulton's  invention  which  was  soon  plying 
the  great  river  and  its  connections,  and  thus  by  rapid  com- 
munication aided  in  consolidating  the  parts  of  the  Union. 
All  sections  now  seemed  to  dwell  in  closer  proximity  than 
ever  before.  4.  Almost  a  million  square  miles,  added  to 
our  national  domain,  seemed  to  offer  unlimited  opportunity 
for  the  expansion  of  population  and  the  creation  of  new 
states.  This,  with  the  states  from  the  old  Northwest, 
which  were  to  bear  the  same  relation  to  the  Union,  pro- 
foundly affected  national  sentiment,  and  even  changed  the 
nature  of  the  Union.  These  new  states  are  the  creatures  of 
the  nation,  while  the  old  thirteen  were  its  creators.  They 
could  not  look  back  with  pride  to  a  period  of  independ- 
ent existence.  On  the  whole,  therefore,  their  people  had 
different  feelings  toward  the  nation  from  those  of  the  peo- 
ple of  the  older  states,  and  in  the  main  this  difference  was 
on  the  side  of  love  and  admiration  for  the  rising  nation. 
5.  The  preservation  of  the  balance  of  power  between  sec- 
tions had  been  an  object  of  solicitude  since  the  constitu- 
tional convention.  The  purchase  was  bitterly  opposed  in 
New  England  as  destroying  its  position  in  the  Union,  and 


174         ORGANIZATION   OF    AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

caused  threats  of  secession.  For  the  time,  national  spirit 
declined  in  this  section,  but  remotely  the  purchase  gave 
a  great  preponderance  to  the  free  over  the  slave  states, 
and  thus  contributed  powerfully  to  save  the  Union  in 
the  Civil  War.  6.  Immediately  the  purchase  argued  for 
nationality  by  demonstrating  the  impracticability  of  strict 
construction.  Strict  construction  was  a  fundamental  prin- 
ciple in  the  creed  of  Jefferson's  party,  but  he  and  his 
party  consciously  violated  it  because  it  stood  in  the  way 
of  a  great  national  interest.  Not  only  this,  but  it  was  all 
done  without  even  asking  the  consent  of  the  states  whose 
future  relations  to  the  Union  were  so  fundamentally 
touched.  This  act  did  not  even  emanate  from  the  legis- 
lative department,  but  was  almost  entirely  the  work  of  the 
national  executive.1  If  this  act  be  tried  by  the  standard 
of  the  Kentucky  and  Virginia  resolutions  it  is  quite  revo- 
lutionary, and  Jefferson  himself  must  have  felt  so,  for  he 
suggested  amending  the  Constitution  so  as  to  ratify  his 
action.  His  party  did  not  take  his  suggestion  seriously, 
thus  showing  its  lack  of  interest  in  making  good  one  of 
its  old  dogmas  and  its  willingness  to  be  responsible  for 

1  In  the  interpretation  of  the  purchase  the  student  may  discover 
and  state  its  meaning  in  various  terms,  but  may  not  at  first  effort  be 
able  to  reduce  them  to  terms  of  nationality.  But,  if  possible,  the 
answers  should  all  be  so  reduced  in  order  that  their  highest  signifi- 
cance may  be  realized,  and  that  they  may  be  unified  under  some 
great  principle  of  growth.  If  possible,  the  student  must  see  that  the 
greatest  results  of  this  event  were  largely  unconscious,  or  so  remote 
that  their  actors  did  not  perceive  them. 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  175 

an  act  that  did  vastly  more  to  consolidate  national  power 
than  any  act  of  either  Hamilton  or  Adams.1 

English  Aggressions,  1803-1812 This  heading  sug- 
gests the  narration  of  events.  But  it  is  selected  to  name 
the  external  causes  of  an  internal  growth  on  the  part  of 
Americans.  Already  it  has  been  mentioned  that  the  ten- 
dency in  this  phase  of  development  is  for  democracy  and 
nationality  to  approach  each  other.  The  former  is  begin- 
ning to  appreciate  the  necessity  of  the  latter,  while  the 
latter  is  ceasing  to  fear  the  former.  This  process  of 
mutual  approach  goes  on  more  rapidly  than  ever  before, 
for  the  need  of  each  for  the  other  is  more  continuous  and 
pressing.  The  above  growth  is  checked  and  limited  by  the 
rise  of  a  counter  movement  mainly  confined  to  New  Eng- 
land and  the  middle  states.  This  anti-national  sentiment 
connected  itself  with  sympathy  for  England,  and  thus 
brought  upon  itself  the  odium  of  being  unpatriotic. 

During  the  Confederation  constant  complaint  was  made 
against  England's  attitude  toward  her  former  colonies. 
This  was  continued  down  to  Jay's .  treaty,  and  hardly 
ceased  then.  The  occasion  of  its  renewal  grew  out  of  cir- 

1  "  However  its  statesmen  might  declaim  about  original  compact, 
whatever  Republican  conventions  might  declare,  the  great  empire 
beyond  the  Mississippi  was  to  stand  forever  as  a  contradiction  of  their 
theories.  Thereafter  no  man  could,  in  the  country  store,  around  the 
post-office  stove,  on  the  courthouse  steps,  at  the  country  fair,  or  upon 
the  road,  advance  the  '  compact '  theory  of  the  government,  without 
being  liable  to  have  the  Louisiana  purchase  thrown  in  his  face." 
— Walker's  Making  of  the  Nation,  p.  184. 


176          ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

cumstances  connected  with  the  Napoleonic  wars.  There 
were  three  main  causes  :  1.  Seizure  of  neutral  goods  in 
American  vessels.  2.  Searching  American  vessels  for  for- 
mer British  seamen  who  had  deserted  or  who  had  become 
naturalized  Americans.  3.  Impressment  of  American  sea- 
men. A  fourth  set  of  circumstances  greatly  aggravated 
the  above,  namely,  the  blockading  and  other  decrees  of 
both  Napoleon  and  England. 

The  Democracy's  Efforts  at  Redress. — Democracy  is 
now  in  a  process  of  transition,  and  tries  to  solve  the  most 
intricate  problems  of  international  relations  by  means 
consistent,  to  some  extent,  with  its  past  profession  of 
principles;  but  the  new  circumstances  with  their  almost 
unsolvable  problems  at  the  same  time  forced  a  modification 
of  these  principles.  Democracy  cannot  escape  the  laws  of 
continuity  and  differentiation  ;  hence  what  was  done  must 
partake  of  a  double  nature  and  seem  inconsistent  with  its 
past,  while  in  fact  it  was  the  highest  kind  of  consistency. 
Jefferson  and  his  party,  in  carrying  out  their  programme, 
had  curtailed  both  army  and  navy,  and  had  reduced  taxa- 
tion to  a  strictly  peace  basis.  But  the  above  aggressions 
betokened  war,  and  the  problem  was  to  coerce  England 
especially,  and  at  the  same  time  avoid  war.  The  following 
measures  are  referred  to  as  briefly  as  possible  for  the 
purpose  of  discovering  their  double  significance  :  how  they 
connected  themselves  with  the  general  spirit  of  democracy, 
and  how  they  tended  to  transform  and  nationalize  its  spirit. 

1.  A  naval  militia,  or  local  gunboats,  was  the  first  meas- 
ure to  secure  protection  to  American  commercial  interests. 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  177 

The  plan  was  to  furnish  each  seaport  with  the  means  of 
self-defence,  to  be  employed  as  occasion  offered.  In  the 
absence  of  danger  the  gunboat  was  to  be  out  of  water,  and 
the  crew  about  their  usual  occupations.  This  appeared  to 
be  a  promising  mode  of  avoiding  heavy  naval  expenditures. 
But  even  this  took  over  a  million  and  a  half  of  Jefferson's 
surplus  and  really  accomplished  little  by  way  of  defence  ; 
certainly  it  lowered  us  greatly  in  the  estimation  of  the 
great  armed  nations  of  Europe. 

2.  The  next   were   negotiations  with  England  looking 
to  a  settlement  of  difficulties.      These  ran  over  much  of 
Jefferson's  last  administration.      England  refused  to  sur- 
render impressments,  to  admit  that  "free  ships  made  free 
goods,"  and  to  open  her  West  Indian  ports  to  us.    A  treaty, 
completed  in  December,  1806,  Jefferson  did  not  submit  to 
the  senate,  knowing  full  well  that  public  sentiment  would 
be  deeply  humiliated,  and  indignantly  resent  the  insult. 
Nevertheless,  Jefferson's  method  of  disposing  of  the  treaty 
was  hardly   in   harmony   with    the   spirit   of  democracy, 
although   this  same   democracy  justified   the  act,  for  the 
people  forgot  the  method  in  their  admiration  of  the  act 
which  refused  to  barter  American  seamen  for  a  few  paltry 
European  trade  concessions  which  England  would  not  obey 
longer  than  European  complications  made  it  desirable. 

3.  In  the  same  year,  1806,  congress  passed  a  Non-im- 
portation  Act,  another  democratic   measure   of   coercion. 
England   was    injured   somewhat,   but   America    was   not 
benefited  ;  the  struggle  with  Napoleon  was  too  intense  for 
her  to  notice  the  harm  we  inflicted. 


178          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

4.  After  the  failure  of  these  measures,  and  following 
the  orders  in  council  and  the  outrage  on  the  Chesapeake, 
the  president  summoned  congress  in  extra  session  and 
recommended  the  Embargo.  Three  days'  debate  in  the 
house  and  four  hours'  in  the  senate  sufficed  to  satisfy  the 
majority.  Indeed  the  nation's  pride  was  deeply  stung,  and 
no  doubt  it  felt  the  words  uttered  by  John  Quincy  Adams  : 
"  The  president  has  recommended  the  measure  on  his  high 
responsibility.  I  would  not  consider,  I  would  not  deliber- 
ate, I  would  act."  Seldom  has  such  power  been  conferred 
on  such  short  notice,  and  practically  for  the  asking.  No 
doubt  the  passage  of  this  law  proves  the  confidence  of  con- 
gress in  the  president,  but  it  also  proves  his  willingness  to 
exercise  vast  national  powers  over  commerce,  such  as  none 
of  his  predecessors  enjoyed.  His  judgment  was  to  decide 
whether  American  ships  were  to  go  abroad,  and  his  deci- 
sion was  to  be  backed  by  the  navy  and  revenue  cutters. 
From  the  very  first  the  majority  of  Federalists  in  the 
middle  states  and  New  England  were  indignantly  hostile  to 
the  measure,  and  soon  the  traders  in  the  great  ports  were 
actively  engaged  in  eluding  the  law.  Smuggling  found  a 
supporting  public  sentiment  in  these  places  —  especially  in 
Boston  and  New  York.  The  carrying  trade  and  its  allied 
interests  looked  upon  the  Embargo  as  purposely  planned 
for  their  injury.  Jefferson  had  created  the  impression 
that  he  was  hostile  to  foreign  commerce,  and  so  he  found 
his  record  on  the  question  standing  in  the  way  of  the  law. 
The  result  was  that  New  England  Federalists  became 
more  and  more  anti-national,  and  were  guilty,  under  the 


NATIONALITY    AND    DEMOCRACY.  179 

exasperation  of  injury,  of  speaking  words  of  sympathy  for 
England.  A  few  even  recommended  submission  to  British 
indignity  as  had  been  done  by  the  French  faction,  and  held 
private  communications  with  the  minister  sent  to  adjust 
the  Chesapeake  affair.  The  legislatures  of  Federal  states 
protested  strongly  against  the  Embargo;  town  meetings 
did  likewise,  and  there  were  hints  at  separation.  The 
spirit  of  opposition  grew  bolder  after  the  act  was  amended 
in  1809  so  as  to  extend  the  power  of  the  president ;  the 
law  was  printed  in  mourning  type,  revolutionary  mottoes 
were  displayed,  and  hints  were  thrown  out  of  a  New 
England  convention  to  inquire  into  the  reserved  rights  of 
the  states.  However,  matters  in  New  England  were  not  all 
running  toward  sectionalism,  for  a  number  of  aggressive 
Republicans  fought  for  the  national  policy,  and  found  their 
ranks  strengthened  by  the  patriotic  conduct  of  John  Quincy 
Adams  and  other  men  of  note.  The  disunion  scare,  the 
immense  injury  to  all  American  interests,  and  the  failure 
to  produce  any  effect  on  either  England  or  France  led  to 
the  repeal  of  the  Embargo  in  the  spring  of  1809. 

Effects  on  the  Progress  of  Democracy  and  Nationality. 
—  Great  results  had  been  wrought  out  in  this  contest: 
1.  The  Eepublican  party,  which  was  more  and  more  in  its 
composition  becoming  identical  with  American  democracy 
had  fairly  committed  itself  to  the  exercise  of  vast  national 
power,  and  had  certainly  pointed  the  way  in  emergencies 
to  an  almost  despotic  use  of  such  power.  Democracy  was 
therefore  beginning  to  occupy,  with  a  courage  born  of 
experience,  good  old  Federal  ground,  once  held  only  by 


180          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

Hamilton  and  his  followers.  The  party  of  Jefferson  was 
beginning  to  act  as  if  necessity  was  the  true  interpreter 
of  the  Constitution.  2.  The  failure  of  the  Embargo  and 
of  other  peaceable  means  of  coercion  forced  upon  the 
country  the  conviction  that  war  was  a  necessity.  The 
continued  conduct  of  England  was  producing  gradually  a 
war  party  within  the  ranks  of  the  democracy.  3.  The 
remnant  of  the  Federal  party  had  become  pretty  thor- 
oughly sectional,  and  was  beginning  to  make  its  political 
confessions  in  terms  of  the  Kentucky  and  Virginia  resolu- 
tions. 4.  A  fourth  phase  of  public  sentiment  appeared  in 
the  vehement  accusations  of  these  two  parties,  each  against 
the  other,  of  friendship  for  France  and  enmity  toward 
England,  or  vice  versa.  This  resulted  in  each  party  trying 
to  avoid  this  cause  of  distrust  for  the  future,  so  that  when 
Non-intercourse  was  substituted  for  the  Embargo,  France 
and  England  were  formally  placed  on  the  same  footing. 
5.  Another  fact  containing  the  germ  of  a  greater  nation- 
ality grew  out  of  the  Embargo,  namely,  the  rise  of  new 
industries  and  the  expansion  of  those  already  established. 
The  War  of  1812  as  a  Product  of  the  National  Spirit.— 
It  has  often  been  said,  but  will  bear  repeating,  that  the 
true  interpretation  of  a  series  of  events  lies  in  two  phases 
of  public  sentiment.  First,  the  phase  that  immediately 
precedes,  and  is  more  or  less  in,  the  events  themselves,  and 
secondly,  the  phase  that  succeeds  the  events.  The  first 
is  the  true  cause  of  the  origin  of  the  events,  and  to  some 
extent  determines  their  character.  The  second  is  their 
true  result.  So  far  as  the  series  of  events  called  the  War 


NATIONALITY    AND   DEMOCKACY.  181 

of  1812  is  concerned,  the  process  of  interpretation  has 
been  begun  in  the  preceding  study.  The  main  features 
of  this  first  stage  of  public  sentiment  may  be  referred  to 
again  in  order  to  trace  them  as  factors  in  the  production 
of  the  war :  1.  An  extreme  anti-national  sentiment  opposed 
to  war  and  to  the  exercise  of  national  power  by  the  party 
in  office.  This  sentiment  existed  among  the  high  Feder- 
alists. 2.  A  peace  and  strict-construction  sentiment  exist- 
ing among  the  old  Republicans,  and  on  occasions  coalescing 
with  the  Federalists.  3.  A  rising  national  and  war  senti- 
ment which  found  its  principal  supporters  in  the  so-called 
Republican  party,  and  in  a  small  contingent  of  patriotic 
Federalists  whose  party  had  deserted  them.  The  war  ele- 
ment was  strong  from  Pennsylvania  southward,  and  had  the 
solid  and  enthusiastic  support  of  the  new  states.  In  the 
absence  of  distracting  local  problems,  the  people  of  these 
rising  western  states  and  territories  were  more  uniformly 
democratic  and  national  than  the  populations  of  the  old 
states ;  more  democratic  because  the  rough  life  of  the 
frontier  equalized  conditions  to  a  marvelous  extent ;  more 
national  because  they  were  the  creatures  of  the  nation 
and  felt  their  great  dependence  upon  it.  "  Here  no  pride 
of  statehood  diminished  the  affection  and  devotion  of  the 
citizen  to  the  government  under  which  he  held  the  title 
to  his  land  ;  to  which  he  looked  for  protection  from  the 
savage  foe ;  which  opened  up  the  navigation  of  the  rivers 
to  his  clumsy  flatboat ;  which  endowed  the  school  in  which 
his  children  learned  to  read.  Constitutional  scruples  were 
at  a  discount  with  these  rude,  strong,  brave  men.  .  .  .  They 


182          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

wanted  a  government,  and  a  strong  government ;  and  in 
the  continually  growing  power  of  the  Republic  they  found 
the  competent  object  of  their  civic  trust  and  pride  and 
love." 1  Originally  followers  of  Jefferson,  their  peculiar 
life  led  them  into  the  ranks  of  the  aggressive  portion  of 
the  party,  while  their  harassing  experiences  with  the 
Indians,  due,  as  they  thought,  to  British  agents,  made 
them  early  and  enthusiastic  advocates  of  war.  The  above 
is  also  applicable  to  the  mountain  populations  of  the  older 
states.  This  sentiment  soon  found  advocates  in  the 
national  councils.  Its  chief  exponents  were  Henry  Clay 
and  John  C.  Calhoun,  who  were  ably  seconded  by  Felix 
Grundy,  Langdon  Cheves,  and  Porter.  These  men,  aided 
by  England's  continued  bad  conduct,  forced  the  peace- 
loving  and  timid  Madison  into  war. 

In  making  this  interpretation  it  must  not  be  forgotten 
that  this  war  party,  in  spite  of  its  great  strides  toward 
nationality,  had  inherited  the  legitimate  fruits  of  that 
earlier  democracy  which  doted  on  low  taxes,  a  small  navy, 
and  a  smaller  army.  The  preservation  of  this  condition 
had  been  a  great  argument  for  Jefferson's  foreign  policy. 
It  was  now  more  than  an  argument  for  democracy — it  was 
a  disaster  to  the  country.  Even  now,  on  the  verge  of  war 
with  the  greatest  naval  power  of  the  world,  the  democ- 
racy of  the  nation  could  not  quite  recharter  Hamilton's 
bank,  and  establish  an  efficient  navy.  It  showed  wonder- 
ful progress  that  the  bank  was  defeated  by  but  one  vote, 
and  that  something  was  done  towards  a  navy,  but  the 
1  Walker's  Making  of  the  Nation,  p.  171. 


NATIONALITY    AND    DEMOCRACY.  183 

"  miss  was  as  good  as  a  mile."  Of  course  nothing  was  more 
national  in  that  day  than  the  United  States  bank  and  the 
navy.  The  former  touched  the  currents  of  trade  every- 
j  where,  and  its  notes,  bearing  the  national  stamp,  were  no 
respecters  of  state  lines.  But  even  more  was  the  navy  tne 
representative  of  national  power.  It  stood  as  the  visible 
symbol  of  national  dignity  to  all  foreign  powers,  and  ready 
to  assail  them  in  defence  of  its  people.  The  navy  was  not 
sectional.  No  state  could  claim  it  as  it  claimed  the  militia. 
A  shot  at  the  flag  as  it  waved  from  the  mast  was  felt  by 
the  whole  people  as  an  insult  to  be  resented.  A  disinter- 
ested patriotism  ought  to  have  dictated  a  great  navy, 
especially  since  the  commercial  states  called  for  it.  The 
failure  to  create  one  gave  point  to  their  opposition  to  the 
war.  Aside  from  these  failures,  the  war  democracy  was 
enthusiastic  in  the  use  of  national  powers,  as  the  follow- 
ing measures  enacted  between  1811  and  1815  prove :  an 
embargo  preliminary  to  war,  a  doubling  of  the  tariff,  an 
excise  and  a  stamp  tax,  provision  for  a  great  national 
debt,  larger  regular  army,  an  army  of  volunteers,  regu- 
lations pertaining  to  the  use  of  the  state  militia,  and 
finally,  the  administration  was  screwing  up  its  courage 
for  a  conscription  law  and  for  government  paper  money. 
Most  of  these  measures  had  been  passionately  denounced 
by  the  party  in  the  campaign  of  1800.  The  people  were 
not  inconsistent;  they  had  grown. 

The  bearing  of  national  sentiment  on  the  progress  of 
the  war  may  be  seen  in  the  fact  that  where  enthusiastic 
devotion  to  the  nation  was  most  universal,  there  the 


184         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

greatest  victories  were  won,  and  where  this  was  at  its 
lowest  ebb,  there  occurred  the  greatest  disasters.  No  anti- 
national  sentiment  could  reach  our  navy  on  lake  or  sea, 
and  the  navy  was  the  glory  of  the  war.  The  victories  of 
Harrison  and  Jackson  were  the  most  brilliant  won  on 
land,  while  the  invasions  of  Canada,  supported  mainly  by 
New  York  and  New  England,  were  the  least  successful 
campaigns  of  the  war.  The  campaign  for  the  defence  of 
Washington  may  be  regarded  as  a  partial  exception  to 
the  above. 

Opposition  to  the  declaration  of  war  was  strongest  in 
New  England  and  New  York,  but  a  few  votes  also  came 
from  other  middle  states  and  from  the  South.  The  prog- 
ress of  the  conflict  only  intensified  the  hostility  of  New 
England.  This  section  repeated  in  extremer  fashion  the 
methods  of  opposition  used  against  the  Embargo.  Some 
additional  means  were :  the  refusal  of  one  or  two  gov- 
ernors to  allow  the  state  militia  to  be  used  by  the  nation, 
attempts  of  capitalists  to  prevent  loans  to  the  nation, 
draining  specie  from  southern  and  western  banks,  open 
expressions  of  favor  for  England,  and  finally,  the  Hartford 
Convention.  These  are  all  anti-national,  particularly  the 
last.  It  was  popularly  believed  that  its  aim  was  the  seces- 
sion of  New  England  from  the  Union.  Its  documents  are 
thoroughly  imbued  with  the  state-sovereignty  idea  of  the 
Kentucky  and  Virginia  resolutions,  as  is  amply  demon- 
strated by  the  propositions  set  before  their  legislatures, 
and  those  recommended  as  amendments  to  the  national 
Constitution. 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.          .        185 

The  War  as  a  Factor  in  Nationalizing  Democracy. — 

The  second  phase  of  interpretation  is  to  discover  how  this 
war  promoted  the  evolution  of  the  national  spirit.  To 
do  this  accurately  the  student  must  remember  that  the 
movement  in  ideas  and  institutions  set  on  foot  by  it  are 
more  important  than  its  military  events.  And  yet  it  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  war  is  a  sort  of  seething  caldron 
of  human  thought  and  mad  passion.  Into  this  are  poured 
old  ideas  and  apparently  permanent  habits  of  action. 
These  dissolve  into  their  original  elements,  and  new  com- 
binations are  formed  from  them.  War  is  a  time  of  bold 
initiative  and  courageous  endeavor ;  new  men  and  new 
measures  result  from  new  environment.  Hence  we  must 
expect  the  forces  of  nationality  and  democracy  to  come 
out  of  the  war  greatly  modified.  This  is  best  discovered 
by  looking  into  the  content  of  the  great  measures  that 
followed  peace. 

1.  The  national  debt  was  over  $120,000,000,  while  cur- 
rency  and  credit  were  in  a  deplorable  condition.  Gallatin, 
Jefferson's  great  financier,  tried  to  forestall  disaster  by 
asking  for  a  new  bank  charter  in  1811.  This  was  refused. 
War  with  its  lessons  came,  and  President  Madison,  Secre- 
tary Dallas,  Speaker  Clay,  and  John  C.  Calhoun  favored 
its  restoration  in  1816.  Its  capital  was  more  than  three 
times  that  of  Hamilton's  bank,  and  it  was  as  fully  en- 
dowed with  authority.  While  it  was  more  national,  it 
was  more  democratic ;  five  of  its  directors  were  appointed 
by  the  president,  and  both  congress  and  the  secretary  of 
the  treasury  were  more  directly  connected  with  this  than 


186          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

with  the  former.  Stock  was  opened  in  each  state,  and  con- 
gress could  compel  the  location  of  branches  among  its 
constituents.  In  1811  Henry  Clay  opposed  the  bank  in  an 
elaborate  argument  based  on  strict  construction  and  true  to 
the  ancient  ideals  of  his  party  ;  in  1816  he  was  just  as 
enthusiastic  for  the  bank,  and  his  argument  would  have 
done  credit  to  Hamilton.  Clay  was  not  inconsistent,  but 
he  had  grown  in  knowledge  and  practical  experience. 

2.  The  Embargo  and  war  cut  off  foreign  importations, 
and  at  the  same  time   greatly  injured   American   capital 
employed  in  the  carrying  trade.     This  unintentional  and 
injurious  result  gave  origin   to  a  phase  of  economic  life 
which   profoundly    influenced   the   course   of   nationality. 
The  need  of  a  new  field  for  capital  and  the  demand  for 
home  products  were  simultaneous.      By  1815  America  had 
made  great  strides  toward  economic  independence.     Peace 
threatened  to  overwhelm  the  new  industries   by  English 
competition.      The  nation  was  appealed  to  for  defensive 
measures,  and  the  party  which  had  created  conditions  call- 
ing them  into  existence  responded  promptly  and  patriotic- 
ally with  a  protective  tariff.      Madison  himself  argued  for 
protection  to  industries  tending  to  make  us  independent  of 
foreign  production.     The  champions  of  this  tariff  were  the 
leaders  of  the  war  party;  its  opponents  were  Federalists 
and  a  few  Eepublicans  who  still  held  to  old  party  standards. 
But  the  majority  of  this  party  were  now  consciously  using 
national  power  for  the  development  of  national  resources. 

3.  Another  lesson  learned  during  the  war  was  that  good 
roads  and  other  means  of  easy  transit  had  something  to 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  187 

do  with  the  success  of  military  movements.  Again  war 
brought  peace  with  the  Indians,  and  population  rapidly 
moved  westward.  Ohio  in  1810  numbered  only  230,000, 
but  in  1820,  580,100.  In  1810  Indiana  had  but  24,800, 
while  in  1820  the  population  had  risen  to  147,000.  Thus 
were  social  and  economic  reasons  added  to  military  neces- 
sity in  favor  of  internal  improvements.  It  had  been 
the  dream  of  Jefferson  to  apply  the  surplus  which  his 
economy  had  created  to  the  unification  of  America  by 
canals  and  roads,  constructed  by  the  cooperation  of  the 
state  and  national  governments.  John  C.  Calhoun  in  1816 
and  1817  presented  a  bill  to  create  a  national  fund  for 
internal  improvement.  Madison  vetoed  it  because  of  its 
violation  of  the  principle  of  strict  construction,  and  rec- 
ommended an  amendment  covering  the  question.  The 
agitation  for  internal  improvements  went  steadily  on  as 
new  states  rapidly  rose  in  the  West.  Appropriations  had 
already  been  made  for  the  Cumberland  Road.  After  the 
war  the  demand  came  for  its  extension  to  the  westward 
under  the  name  of  the  National  Koad.  By  1820  over 
$1,500,000  had  been  expended  upon  it.  So  far  had  senti- 
ment grown  away  from  the  old  point  of  view  that  the 
national  Republicans  made  internal  improvements  a  cardi- 
nal point  in  their  programme,  and  more  than  two  and  a 
quarter  millions  were  appropriated  for  this  purpose  during 
John  Quincy  Adams'  administration. 

The  final  decline  of  sentiment  in  favor  of  national  aid  to 
roads  and  canals  was  not  due  to  a  decline  in  nationality, 
but  because  the  steamboat  and  the  railroad  were  beginning 


188          ORGANIZATION    OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

to  meet  the  demand  for  rapid  and  easy  social  and  com- 
mercial communication.  Fulton's  invention  was  successful 
in  1807,  and  at  the  opening  of  the  War  of  1812  steamboats 
were  appearing  on  western  rivers.  After  the  war  their  num- 
bers grew  rapidly ;  their  work  in  binding  the  East  to  the 
West  was  of  untold  value  to  the  nation,  although  it  was 
largely  a  process  whose  significance  was  not  then  seen. 

4.  The  war  destroyed  both  the  organization  of  the  Fed- 
eralists and  the  original  doctrines  of  the  Republicans.     All 
that  was  vital  in  the  former  was  developed  and  applied 
by  the  new  Eepublicans.     All  that  was  dangerous  in  the 
Jeffersonian  democracy  was  absorbed  by  the  Federalists  as 
an  opposition  party.     As  the  contest  went  on  democracy 
constantly  gained  and  aristocracy  as  constantly  lost.     Fed- 
eralism not  only  became  narrow,  but  also  unpatriotic  and 
threatened  the  nation's  life.      It  found  no  place  among  the 
hardy  western  populations,  and  because  aristocracy  does  not 
emigrate  it  remained  geographically  stationary.      Federal- 
ism disappeared  in  name  in  the  Era  of  Good  Feeling.     Its 
old  leaders  had  passed  away ;  its  younger  members  found 
congenial  company  among  the  National  Republicans.     On 
its  political  side  the  Era  of  Good  Feeling  marked  the  final 
disappearance  of  the  difference  that  had  separated  democ- 
racy and  nationality.      And  while  the  party  calling  itself 
Democratic  does  go  on  mumbling  the  Jeffersonian  formulae, 
yet  the  body  of  its  members  do  not  oppose,  but  generally 
favor,  nationality. 

5.  During  the  greater  part  of   the  era  marked  by  the 
transformation  of  American  democracy,  a  series  of  deci- 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  189 

sions  of  vast  consequence  to  the  development  of  the  nation 
were  handed  down  by  the  Supreme  Court.  John  Marshall 
had  been  made  Chief  Justice  by  John  Adams  just  as  the 
Federalist  party  was  passing  from  power.  Although 
deserted  by  his  party,  Marshall  was  faithful  to  the  work 
appointed  for  him  to  do.  Steadily  there  fell  from  his  pen 
a  series  of  decisions  touching  the  powers  of  the  nation 
under  the  Constitution.  In  1816  the  Supreme  Court  dem- 
onstrated its  right  to  be  the  final  interpreter  of  the  Consti- 
tution -thus  limiting  the  power  of  state  courts.  Later 
Marshall  rendered  a  decision  justifying  a  resort  to  implied 
powers  in  the  creation  of  the  bank  ;  in  1810,  and  again 
in  1819,  he  denied  the  power  of  the  state  legislature  to 
impair  the  obligations  of  contracts.  Public  sentiment  was 
not  shocked  at  the  principles  announced  in  these  decisions, 
thus  showing  how  much  it  had  grown,  especially  between 
1810  and  1820. 

6.  The  war  exerted  many  subtle  effects  on  the  mutual 
movements  of  nationality  and  democracy.  None  were 
more  so  than  the  effect  upon  what  may  be  termed  Ameri- 
can literary  thought.  No  department  of  life  yielded  so 
slowly  to  the  inspiring  touch  of  nationality  and  democracy. 
Before  the  war  little  was  produced  which  could  be  called 
literature,  and  less  that  was  national  in  tone,  although 
there  was  much  controversial  writing  over  politics.  The 
literary  men  were  generally  out  of  sympathy  with  the  dem- 
ocratic movements  of  the  period,  and  seldom  found  subjects 
relating  to  American  life  and  tendencies  to  inspire  their 
pens.  The  few  writers  were  generally  imitators  of  Euro- 


190         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

pean  standards.  The  nationalizing  effect  of  the  war  showed 
itself  in  the  field  of  literature,  for  now  there  arose  men 
who  soon  won  fame  for  America.  Among  them  may  be 
named  Paulding,  Irving,  Bryant,  Cooper,  Halleck,  Drake, 
Percival,  and  Sprague.  In  1815  was  founded  the  North 
American  Review.  As  early  as  1811  was  established  that 
famous  old  journal,  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  whose  intense 
Americanism  did  much  to  stimulate  national  pride.  A  new 
race  of  orators,  deeply  imbued  with  an  ardor  truly  patriotic, 
now  sprang  into  existence.  Among  these  were  Channing, 
Clay,  Webster,  Everett,  and  many  others  of  lesser  note. 

Significance  of  the  Era  of  Good  Feeling.  —  This  is  partly 
discovered  in  the  facts  immediately  preceding.  Its  deeper 
meaning  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  was  the  culmination  of  the 
movement  for  the  nationalization  of  American  democracy 
and  for  the  popularizing  of  American  nationality.  Then  was 
political  disintegration  complete  and  political  animosity 
forgotten.  President  Monroe's  journey,  as  far  eastward  as 
Boston  and  westward  as  Detroit,  furnishes  sufficient  evi- 
dence that  there  was  once  more  a  president  of  the  whole 
people.1  It  was  also  an  age  of  political  integration,  for  in 

1  It  was  a  Boston  paper  that  called  this  period  "  the  era  of  good 
feeling."  Another  Boston  paper  said  that  "the  visit  of  the  president 
seems  to  have  wholly  allayed  the  storms  of  party.  People  now  meet 
in  the  same  room  who  a  short  while  since  would  scarcely  pass  along 
the  same  street."  A  third  stated  that  "the  visit  has  a  more  direct 
tendency  than  any  other  to  remove  prejudices,  to  harmonize  feelings, 
annihilate  dissensions,  and  make  us  indeed  one  people."  In  Hartford 
the  president  was  called  a  "  political  father  and  guide."  —  McMaster, 
vol.  iv.  pp.  379-380. 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  191 

the  crisis  of  the  election  in  1824  men  of  Federal  antece- 
dents and  the  National  Republicans  coalesced  and  elected 
John  Quincy  Adams.  This  presaged  a  new  party.  In  this 
campaign  each  section  had  its  candidate,  and  so  strongly 
were  the  people  attached  to  their  favorite  sons  that  they 
refused  to  abide  by  the  customary  action  of  the  congres- 
sional caucus.  This  institution  had  stood  between  the 
presidency  and  the  people,  but  it  was  now  forever  destroyed. 
The  destruction  of  this  undemocratic  piece  of  machinery 
shows  a  tendency  of  the  people  to  directly  participate  in 
national  affairs  ;  they  were  greatly  stimulated  by  the  pres- 
ence of  presidential  candidates  from  so  many  parts  of 
the  country.  The  common  people  took  a  sort  of  personal 
interest,  not  before  witnessed,  in  the  campaign  because 
of  their  warm  personal  regard  for  the  candidates.  This 
was  also  prophetic. 

THE  FUSION  OF  NATIONALITY  AND  DEMOCRACY  WORKING 
OUT  ITS  RESULTS. 

General  Significance.  —  We  now  enter  upon  the  last 
phase  of  the  relationship  of  nationality  and  democracy  as 
an  organizing  idea.  The  collisions  and  cooperations  be- 
tween these  two  mighty  forces  had  worn  down  the  differ- 
ences separating  them  so  that  they  now  practically  moved 
in  harmony.  The  most  fundamental  result  of  this  fusion 
as  it  worked  itself  out  in  national  affairs  has  been  the 
deep  and  abiding  interest  taken  by  the  common  people. 
In  this  phase,  for  the  first  time  in  American  history,  they 


192         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

actually  came  into  possession  of  the  machinery  of  the 
national  government.  Heretofore  they  had  been  led ;  now 
they  took  the  lead  or  furnished  leaders.  The  tendency 
toward  an  aristocracy  of  office-holders  now  began  to  dis- 
appear, and  new  and  untried  men  from  among  the  common 
people  came  to  the  front.  No  doubt  the  grade  of  Ameri- 
can statesmanship  was  lowered  by  the  introduction  of  so 
much  inexperience,  but  the  thorough  nationalization  of  the 
common  people  was  a  result  of  immeasurable  consequence 
to  our  country  in  the  day  of  its  greatest  trial.  No  one 
can  tell  what  the  result  might  have  been  in  the  conflict 
with  slavery  had  not  the  common  people  come  to  feel  that 
their  fate  was  bound  up  with  that  of  the  nation  ;  that  its 
enemy  was  their  foe,  and  its  helper  their  friend.  The 
enthusiasm  of  the  masses  for  the  nation  grew  into  full 
consciousness  during  this  era. 

Significance  of  Jackson's  Election.  —  Old  things  were 
passing  away  and  all  things  were  becoming  new.  In 
nothing  is  the  change  so  evident  as  in  the  campaign  which 
elected  Jackson  in  1828.  Some  of  its  methods  and  char- 
acteristics were  foreshadowed  in  the  contest  of  1824. 
The  following  brief  statements  will  further  aid  in 
reaching  a  correct  interpretation  of  the  campaign  as 
a  whole. 

1.  On  the  part  of  Jackson's  followers  the  contest  opened 
immediately  after  the  election  of  Adams,  and  was,  there- 
fore, nearly  four  years  in  length.  The  nominating  caucus 
was  gone,  and  a  more  popular  method  was  instituted  for 
getting  Jackson  before  the  people.  The  first  step  his  man- 


NATIONALITY    AND    DEMOCRACY.  193 

agers  took  was  to  get  him  recommended  to  the  people  by 
the  legislature  of  Tennessee  in  1825,  when  Jackson  imme- 
diately resigned  from  the  senate.  By  means  of  correspond- 
ence, public  meetings  were  held  to  endorse  this  action ;  the 
most  notable  was  in  Philadelphia  in  1826.  The  apparent 
spontaneity  of  the  movement  is  shown  by  the  frequent  and 
pressing  invitations  to  Jackson  to  address  all  sorts  of  bodies 
in  all  parts  of  the  country.  In  1827  the  legislature  of 
Louisiana  invited  him  to  join  with  the  people  in  celebration 
of  the  victory  of  New  Orleans.  Delegations  from  distant 
states  united  to  make  this  the  greatest  popular  demon- 
stration yet  held  in  America.  In  1828  popular  enthusiasm 
took  up  Jackson's  cause,  and  erected,  with  appropriate 
exercises,  hickory  poles  in  many  parts  of  the  nation  to 
testify  their  appreciation  of  his  peculiar  character.  The 
above  methods  were  in  themselves  telling  arguments  ad- 
dressed to  the  imagination  and  feeling  of  the  .masses. 
These  brought  General  Jackson  before  the  people  and 
created  a  personal  interest  in  him  such  as  they  had  taken 
only  in  their  favorite  sons  in  1824.  In  the  course  of  this 
campaign,  papers  sprung  into  existence  for  the  special  pur- 
pose of  promoting  Jackson's  candidacy.  In  congress  the 
opposition  organized  to  obstruct  every  movement  and 
measure  of  Adams'  administration.  They  aimed  to  dis- 
credit him  in  the  eyes  of  the  nation.  The  student  will 
readily  see  that  these  are  methods  of  campaigning  not  here- 
tofore in  use,  and  though  not  of  the  highest  order,  yet  cal- 
culated to  win  the  populace. 

2.  The  arguments  of  the  campaign  were  new  and  carried 


194         ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

tremendous  meaning.  In  the  first  place,  they  did  not  bear 
on  the  relative  statesmanship  of  Jackson  and  Adams. 
Perhaps  the  first  argument  used  in  the  campaign  was 
that  Jackson  had  been  cheated  out  of  the  presidency  by 
a  corrupt  bargain  between  Adams  and  Clay.  There  was 
no  truth  in  the  charge  as  was  demonstrated,  but  Jackson 
and  his  campaigners  never  ceased  to  reiterate  the  story, 
and  no  doubt  it  was  believed  by  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
small-minded  people.  A  second  reason  urged  in  favor  of 
Jackson  was  that  congress  had  violated  the  democratic 
spirit  in  electing  Adams.  Jackson  had  received  a  larger 
vote,  both  popular  and  electoral,  than  any  other  candidate. 
This,  said  Jackson  men,  should  have  determined  the 
matter.  The  significance  of  this  argument  lies  in  its  con- 
trast with  the  way  Jefferson  and  his  followers  would  have 
argued.  They  would  have  said  there  are  two  modes  of 
electing^,  president ;  the  Constitution  does  not  even  suggest 
that  the  results  of  one  mode  shall  determine  the  result  for 
the  other.  But  Jacksonian  democracy  exalts  the  temporary 
opinion  of  the  people  above  the  Constitution,  and  there- 
fore throws  strict  construction  to  the  winds.  The  meaning 
of  this  with  reference  to  nationalization  is  very  clear  when 
we  recall  that  the  method  by  which  Adams  was  elected  is 
the  very  essence  of  state  sovereignty  itself  ;  a  cardinal  doc- 
trine of  the  Confederation  period  and  of  the  Jeffersonian 
democracy  was  the  equality  of  the  states.  Perhaps  the 
most  effective  argument  with  the  masses  was  that  General 
Jackson  himself  was  a  man  sprung  from  their  own  class, 
while  President  Adams  and  his  supporters  were  a  different 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  195 

sort  of  people  altogether,  and  had  little  or  nothing  in 
common  with  them.  Adams  and  Clay  in  particular,  they 
held,  belonged  to  a  sort  of  office-holding  aristocracy  that 
had  aimed  to  perpetuate  itself  by  the  congressional  caucus, 
the  succession  of  secretaries,  limited  suffrage,  and  the 
legislative  election  of  the  electoral  college.  By  these 
methods  the  great  body  of  citizens  were  kept  from  exert- 
ing their  legitimate  influence  on  the  nation's  policy.  On 
the  other  hand,  they  said,  General  Jackson  is  supported  by 
the  people  and  is  one  of  them ;  so  he  was  born,  so  he  was 
reared,  and  such  has  been  his  career.  In  his  military 
capacity  he  has  ever  been  the  friend  and  the  idol  of  the 
common  soldiers ;  he  shared  their  hardships  on  the  march 
and  in  the  camp,  and  in  battle  was  their  leader.  We, 
therefore,  want  him  for  our  president ;  he  will  indeed  be 
the  people's  president,  and  will  use  the  government  for 
their  good.  There  was  much  truth  and  some  error  in  this 
sort  of  argument,  but  the  significant  thing  is  that  the  plain 
people  of  the  West  and  South,  in  portions  of  the  middle 
states,  and  the  artisans  in  the  large  cities  were  powerfully 
taken  by  such  appeals.  They  longed  to  see  themselves,  in 
the  person  of  Andrew  Jackson,  in  possession  of  the  great 
office,  and  the  result  was  in  harmony  with  their  feelings, 
for  Jackson  received  nearly  a  hundred  more  electoral  votes 
than  Adams.  No  doubt  the  unselfish  resolution  of  Adams 
to  make  no  effort  in  his  own  behalf,  especially  by  the  use 
of  patronage,  contributed  to  Jackson's  majority.  By  1828 
the  non-democratic  elements  in  the  southern  states  had 
begun  to  desert  the  National  Republicans ;  but  it  is  very 


196          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

apparent  that  the  campaign  as  a  whole  indicates  the  com- 
ing supremacy  of  the  people. 

Jackson's  Rule  Interpreted.  — This  has  been  done  partly, 
since  the  campaign  aided  in  determining  the  lines  of 
administration.  The  method  and  details  were  partly 
determined  by  the  men  composing  the  administration. 
The  cabinet  contained  no  man  of  statesmanlike  ability, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  Van  Buren.  Jackson  domi- 
nated it  completely,  and  directed  its  work  with  the  same 
vigor  and  despatch  as  he  had  displayed  in  conducting 
Indian  campaigns ;  he  was  the  administration.  In  addi- 
tion to  his  military  spirit,  Jackson  possessed,  in  an  inten- 
sified way,  the  strength  and  weakness  of  a  frontier  farmer. 
He  recognized  but  two  classes  of  men,  —  friends  and  ene- 
mies ;  these  were  always  personal  and  never  political. 
He  felt  that  men  of  wealth  had  been  favored  by  the  gov- 
ernment; the  plain  people,  the  farmers  and  the  artisans, 
had  been  neglected,  and  now  their  time  had  come.  In 
trying  to  get  at  the  true  meaning  of  the  events  and 
measures  of  this  administration,  as  little  attention  as 
possible  will  be  given  to  details. 

1.  The  inauguration  was  simply  a  continuation  of  the 
campaign ;  the  noisy  demonstrations  attending  the  event 
proved  that  the  people  came  to  see  themselves  inaugurated. 
No  such  scenes,  no  such  crowds,  and  no  such  people  had 
ever  before  been  drawn  to  witness  the  ceremonies.  One 
compared  it  to  the  invasion  of  Eome  by  the  Goths  and 
Vandals,  another  to  the  reign  of  King  Mob,  and  Webster 
said  the  crowd  acted  as  if  they  thought  the  country  had 


NATIONALITY   AND    DEMOCRACY.  197 

been  "rescued  from  some  dreadful  danger."  It  was  signifi- 
cant that  nearly  all  the  Jackson  editors  in  the  country 
were  there. 

2.  The  wholesale  removals  from  office  was  the  first 
startling  event.  Spoilsmen  in  and  out  of  the  cabinet  no 
doubt  hastened  it,  but  it  had  to  come,  for  it  was  the  logic 
of  events  as  interpreted  by  the  president.  He  plainly 
said,  and  more  deeply  felt,  that  the  demonstration  of 
public  sentiment  in  the  election  imposed  upon  him  the 
duty  of  reforming  the  federal  patronage.  In  view  of  prin- 
ciples controlling  all  his  predecessors,  especially  the  retir- 
ing executive,  and  in  view  of  the  tendency  of  the  campaign 
just  closed,  reform  of  patronage  could  mean  but  one  thing, 
—the  substitution  of  the  friends  of  the  administration  and 
of  the  people  for  those  in  office.  The  immediate  and  dis- 
astrous consequences  to  individuals  and  to  the  service 
were  either  not  seen  or  not  appreciated.  About  the  only 
good  result  of  the  new  departure  was  to  interest  the 
common  people  more  thoroughly  in  national  affairs,:  and 
thus  give  them  a  fuller  appreciation  of  the  way  in  which 
the  nation  is  related  to  them.  The  basis  of  this  interest 
may  have  been  selfish,  but  it  had  to  have  a  beginning ;  that 
it  rose  above  the  mere  greed  of  office  and  partisan  success 
is  well  attested  by  the  sacrifices  made  by  the  people  to 
save  the  nation  in  1861.  What  if  they  had  not  been  edu- 
cated into  an  affection  for  the  nation  by  a  generation  of 
political  experience  ?  However,  it  began  to  appear  that 
no  national  movement,  where  numbers  count,  can  ever  be 
successful  without  the  backing  of  the  new  democracy. 


198          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

3.  In  his  message  to  congress  in  December  of  1829, 
Jackson  opened  his  long  fight  against  the  United  States 
Bank.  Whether  he  thus  early  believed  the  bank  guilty 
of  participating  in  politics,  or  whether  he  conceived  a  dis- 
like for  the  president  of  the  bank  for  his  independent  and 
courageous  defence  of  it,  it  is  significant  that  Jackson  said 
it  was  "  considered  unconstitutional  by  a  large  portion  of 
our  fellow-citizens."  The  Supreme  Court  had  decided  it 
constitutional,  but  that  did  not  matter  since  the  highest 
court  —  the  people  —  thought  it  unconstitutional.  This 
sounds  like  the  claim  made  by  Jackson's  friends  when 
congress  elected  Adams  in  the  face  of  a  plurality  of  the 
popular  vote  for  Jackson.  In  this  same  message,  Jackson 
suggested  a  national  bank,  presumably  under  the  control 
of  the  treasury  department,  and  thus  subject  to  the  new 
tribunal,  —  the  people.  In  his  message  to  congress  in  1831, 
Jackson  said  he  had  disclosed  his  opinions  concerning  the 
bank,  "  in  order  that  the  attention  of  the  legislature  and 
the  people"  should  be  called  to  it,  and  now  proposed  "to 
leave  it  for  the  present  to  the  investigation  of  an  enlight- 
ened people  and  their  representatives."  This  repeated 
reference  to  the  people  is  most  significant.  Benton  con- 
fesses that  the  opponents  of  the  bank  in  congress  aimed 
by  their  method  of  attack  to  "  rouse  the  people,  and  pre- 
pare them  to  sustain  the  veto."  Among  other  things  the 
veto  said :  "  But  when  the  laws  undertake  to  add  .  .  . 
artificial  distinction,  to  grant  titles,  gratuities,  and  exclu- 
sive privileges,  to  make  the  rich  richer  and  the  potent 
more  powerful,  the  humble  members  of  society,  the  farmers, 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  199 

mechanics,  and  laborers,  .  .  .  have  a  right  to  complain  of 
the  injustice  of  their  government.  ...  If  sustained  by 
my  fellow-citizens  I  shall  be  grateful  and  happy.  .  .  ." 

4.  The  campaign  of  1832  was,  in  its  methods,  an  evolu- 
tion of  that  of  1828,  and  in  its  issues,  mainly  a  continuation 
of  the  bank  controversy.  Jackson  had  already  recom- 
mended amending  the  Constitution  to  secure  the  election 
of  the  president  by  a  direct  vote  of  the  people,  and  to 
make  him  ineligible  for  reelection.  But  it  did  not  take 
much  manoeuvering  to  produce  a  "  spontaneous  "  demand 
for  his  reelection.  A  suggestion  was  now  offered  that 
Jackson  be  nominated  at  a  great  national  convention  of  the 
party.  This  brought  the  selection  of  president  one  step 
nearer  the  people,  and  was  so  in  harmony  with  the  spirit 
of  the  times  that  all  three  parties  held  nominating  conven- 
tions. This  campaign  gained  a  still  deeper  hold  on  the 
feelings  of  the  people.  There  were  day  parades  with  fife, 
drum,  and  banners,  night  demonstrations  with  torchlight 
processions  and  transparencies,  pole-raisings,  speeches, 
banquets,  pamphlets,  cartoons,  and  other  features  of  later- 
day  campaigns.  In  originating  this  sort  of  political  argu- 
ment the  Democrats  far  excelled  the  Whigs.  The  defeat 
of  Clay  and  the  bank  was  overwhelming,  the  electoral  vote 
being  219  to  49  in  favor  of  Jackson.  The  new  court  had 
rendered  another  decision,  and  Jackson  carried  an  order 
for  the  bank's  annihilation.  His  message  in  December, 
1832,  questioned  the  safety  of  the  national  deposits,  and 
said  that  rumors,  widely  current,  called  for  an  investiga- 
tion. The  investigation  exonerated  the  bank,  congress 


200          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

gave  it  a  vote  of  confidence,  but  the  president  ordered  the 
deposits  removed,  in  1833,  to  certain  state  banks.  To  a 
secretary  opposing  the  removal,  the  president  said  :  "  My 
object  is  to  save  the  country ;  it  will  be  lost  if  we  permit 
the  bank  to  exist."  The  bank  began  to  prepare  for  the 
end  by  contracting  its  loans,  and  the  beginnings  of  finan- 
cial disaster  were  at  hand. 

5.  The  number  of  state  banks  rapidly  increased,  creating 
greater  competition  for  national  deposits.  Congress  passed 
an  act  in  1836  depositing  the  surplus  revenue  with  the 
states,  subject  to  recall.  Money  was  thus  placed  where 
the  people  could  get  it  easily;  speculation  followed ; 
prices,  except  of  public  land  which  was  fixed  by  law,  rose 
rapidly.  Hence  everybody  wished  to  buy  government 
land  to  hold  for  speculation.  Thousands  of  depreciated 
state-bank  notes  were  received  in  payment  for  public  land  ; 
Jackson  became  alarmed,  and  in  July,  1836,  issued  the 
circular  ordering  that  specie  alone  be  accepted  for  land. 
Gold  and  silver  moved  westward,  paper  money  eastward  ; 
business  was  disturbed,  and  confidence  undermined.  In 
the  spring  of  1837  the  crash  came.1  Jackson  was  just 
retiring  from  the  presidency,  but  was  yet  the  real  leader 
of  his  party.  The  rank  and  file  were  every  now  and  then 
to  hear  the  old  leader's  voice  speaking  through  Van  Buren. 

1  This  is  not  intended  as  an  adequate  explanation  of  the  extent  and 
character  of  the  speculation  which  took  hold  of  individuals,  corpora- 
tions, and  states  alike.  It  does  not  assume  to  state  all  the  causes  of 
the  explosion,  but  rather  indicates  the  part  which  popular  sentiment, 
— the  conscious  power  behind  the  throne,  —  acting  on  congress  and 
the  administration,  played  in  the  management  of  the  national  finances. 


NATIONALITY    AND   DEMOCRACY.  201 

6,  Although  the  new  administration  posed  as  a  mere 
continuation  of  the  preceding  one,  had  the  election  been 
postponed  a  year  even,  the  name  of  Jackson  could  hardly 
have  carried  the  day.  As  it  was,  the  popular  and  electoral 
vote  were  both  much  reduced.  Between  1837  and  1840  the 
people  began  to  distrust  the  leaders  who  brought  such  dis- 
tress upon  the  nation.  Perhaps  they  did  not  recall  that,  in 
the  main,  these  leaders  had  reflected  the  people's  wishes 
in  financial  matters.  The  administration  was  further 
separated  from  the  masses  who  followed  Jackson  by  refus- 
ing the  relief  which  public  sentiment  felt  it  could  furnish, 
especially  the  repeal  of  the  specie  circular.  Van  Buren's 
great  remedy,  the  Independent  Treasury,  did  not  strongly 
appeal  to  popular  favor ;  it  was  preventive  rather  than 
curative,  while  the  popular  demand  was  for  the  removal 
of  present  distress.  The  measure  brought  no  immediate 
support  to  the  administration,  for  it  was  generally  viewed 
as  a  selfish  desertion  of  the  country  by  the  government. 

The  Campaign  of  1840.  —  The  significance  of  this  extra- 
ordinary campaign  lies  largely  in  the  fact  that  the  Whig 
party  greatly  developed  the  Jacksonian  methods  of  stirring 
popular  enthusiasm.  While  this  party  was  far  less  aristo- 
cratic and  conservative  than  the  old  Federalist,  yet,  as  a 
rule,  it  was  not  nearly  so  popular  in  its  make-up  and 
measures  as  its  rival.  However,  in  this  presidential  con- 
test it  obtained  so  tremendous  a  hold  on  popular  favor  that 
it  promised  for  a  time  to  become  the  real  people's  party. 

The  intense  distress  produced  by  the  panic,  and  the 
apparently  indifferent  attitude  of  the  administration  con- 


202          ORGANIZATION    OF   AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

cerning  measures  of  relief,  created  dissatisfaction  among 
the  rank  and  file  of  the  Democratic  party.  They  had 
been  taught  to  believe  in  the  nation's  ability  to  do  well  or 
ill  by  the  people.  The  contrast  between  Van  Buren  and 
Harrison  went  far  toward  Whig  success.  It  was  not 
unlike  that  between  Adams  and  Jackson  in  1828.  Harri- 
son was  the  honest  western  farmer  and  courageous  frontier 
soldier ;  Van  Buren  was  the  eastern  politician,  and  had 
always  held  office  ;  Harrison  was  one  of  the  people,  having 
their  ideas  and  feelings,  and  could  be  trusted  to  serve 
them ;  Van  Buren  was  the  "  little  aristocrat,"  lived  in 
grand  style  at  Washington,  and  had  forgotten  the  lessons 
of  Jefferson  and  Jackson.  A  popular  campaign  speech 
pictured  the  White  House  as  a  royal  palace  and  its  occu- 
pants feasting  as  Caesars.  The  tables  in  the  banquet  halls 
were  described  with  elaborate  detail  before  the  gaping 
multitude.  But  Harrison,  the  man  of  the  people,  was 
a  product  of  the  log  cabin  with  its  plain  and  frugal  life. 

In  1837  the  Ohio  Whig  convention  nominated  Harrison, 
as  in  1825  the  legislature  of  Tennessee  named  Jackson, 
and,  like  him,  Harrison  began  to  be  pressed  by  invitations. 
In  1838  he  visited  Indiana,  the  scene  of  his  great  victory 
over  the  Indians  in  1811,  and  set  the  people  on  fire. 
Clubs  and  battle  anniversaries  became  the  order  of  the 
day,  till  the  national  Whig  convention  named  him  in  pref- 
erence to  Clay,  Webster,  or  Scott.  And  now  began  in 
earnest  a  contest,  by  the  side  of  which  the  campaign  of 
1832  pales  into  insignificance.  Such  crowds  !  Such  pro- 
cessions !  Such  enthusiasm  !  The  Harrison  demonstra- 


NATIONALITY   AND   DEMOCRACY.  203 

tions  numbered  all  the  way  from  a  few  to  a  hundred 
thousand.  People  traveled  hundreds  of  miles  to  be  pres- 
ent on  such  occasions,  and  processions  were  days  upon  the 
road.  The  log  cabin  with  its  latch  string  out,  the  raccoon, 
the  barrel  of  cider  on  tap,  the  rolling  ball,  and  the  roasted 
ox  played  leading  parts  in  rousing  popular  enthusiasm. 
To  these  were  added,  for  the  first  time,  "  taking "  cam- 
paign songs,  which  were  widely  employed  in  stimulating 
patriotic  and  partisan  zeal.  In  all  this  the  Whigs  far 
excelled  the  Democrats,  as  the  election  demonstrated. 
Nineteen  states  voted  for  Harrison  and  seven  for  Van 
Buren,  while  the  electoral  vote  was  234  to  60  in  favor  of 
the  Whigs. 

The  joy  of  the  people  was  unbounded  at  finding  them- 
selves once  more  in  possession  of  their  own.  The  Whig 
statesmen  now  spoke  with  the  same  authority  as  did  Jack- 
son in  1828  and  1832.  Listen  to  Clay  as  he  speaks  to  the 
Senate  in  December,  1840,  on  the  repeal  of  the  independ- 
ent-treasury bill :  "  The  nation  wills  the  repeal  of  the 
measure,  the  nation  decrees  the  repeal  of  the  measure, 
and  the  nation  commands  the  repeal  of  the  measure,  and 
the  representatives  of  nineteen  states  were  sent  here 
instructed  to  repeal  it."  This  reveals  the  immense  dis- 
tance separating  the  new  from  the  old  Federalism,  and 
how  completely  nationality  has  identified  itself  with 
democracy,  just  as  Jackson  proved  the  close  identity  of 
democracy  and  nationality. 

An  Era  of  National  Pride.  —  The  vast  expenditure  of 
energy  during  this  period  was  not  confined  to  political  and 


204         ORGANIZATION    OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

economic  problems.  From  the  organization  of  the  govern- 
ment the  American  people  had  been  under  the  spell  of 
intense  activity.  The  marvelous  results  wrought  out 
caused  a  corresponding  elevation  of  national  pride.  No 
doubt  much  of  this  feeling  was  shallow  and  bombastic; 
but  on  the  whole,  it  was  based  on  solid  achievement.  We 
were  becoming  proud  of  our  past,  and  were  not  insensible 
to  the  fact  that  foreigners  were  beginning  to  notice  our 
people  and  their  institutions.  Conscious  of  great  things 
already  achieved,  and  of  the  possibility  of  still  greater 
achievements,  Americans  in  this  age  hotly  resented  the 
one-sided  criticism  of  foreigners  like  Dickens  and  Trollope. 
Perhaps  nothing,  in  a  quiet  way,  made  Americans  prouder 
of  their  nation  than  its  lo*ng  list  of  celebrated  names. 
Besides  the  revolutionary  celebrities,  the  last  of  whom 
were  rapidly  passing  away,  and  the  military  and  naval 
heroes  of  1812,  the  imaginations  and  hearts  of  the  people 
were  filled  by  the  splendid  abilities  of  the  statesmen  who 
still  moved  in  their  midst.  But  the  list  included  more 
than  warriors  and  statesmen  ;  men  were  now  springing 
into  prominence  in  every  field  of  activity.  Longfellow, 
Whittier,  and  Holmes  were  joining  Irving,  Cooper,  and 
Bryant  in  the  field  of  literature,  and  Bancroft,  our  first 
great  historian,  was  beginning  his  herculean  labors;  while 
Webster's  Dictionary  was  already  raising  the  standard  of 
national  speech.  Emerson  was  a  rising  philosopher  and 
poet  whose  American  pride  rebelled  against  the  worship 
of  European  formalism  and  tradition.  Kent  and  Story 
were  occupying  the  field  of  jurisprudence  with  masterly 


NATIONALITY   AND    DEMOCRACY.  205 

pens,  and  writers  upon  economics  and  political  science 
were  coming  forward.  Science  was  beginning  to  count 
some  great  names  among  eastern  institutions,  and  already 
one  polar  expedition  had  done  its  work  and  returned  with 
its  story  of  adventure  and  discovery.  In  the  field  of 
journalism  activity  and  success  were  even  more  marked. 
Now  came  into  existence  those  mighty  engines  of  public 
opinion,  —  the  great  metropolitan  newspapers.  They  were 
much  like  the  politicians  of  the  era  in  that  they  tried 
to  reflect  the  life  of  the  people.  Therefore  they  became 
really  newsy  papers,  and  at  first,  selling  at  a  penny,  their 
circulation  increased  enormously.  In  New  York  city  the 
Sun,  the  Herald,  and  the  Tribune  set  the  fashion  of  the 
new  departure.  Before  this  advent  political  opinion  had 
been  largely  molded  by  the  party  organ  located  at  Wash- 
ington city,  and  dependent  for  its  existence  on  administra- 
tive favors  ;  but  the  new  paper  was  more  independent, 
resting  on  the  public  for  support,  dictating  policies  and 
measures  for  the  administration. 

These  mighty  forces  were  producing  a  body  of  common 
thought  and  sentiment,  creating  a  solidarity  of  interests 
in  all  sections  and  among  all  classes  .that  even  slavery 
could  not  destroy.  Such  was  the  function  of  the  period 
from  1789  to  1840,  and  such  was  the  result.  Many  facts 
touching  this  result  could  not  be  discussed.  Important 
among  these  were  the  extension  of  suffrage,  the  growth 
of  the  government's  land  policy,  increase  of  immigration, 
party  organization,  increase  of  inventions,  and  the  diffu- 
sion of  wealth. 


NATIONALITY  AND  SLAVERY,   1820-1870. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  CONFLICT. 

Origin  of  the  Struggle.  —  The  mutual  conquest  of 
nationality  and  democracy  reached  its  fruition  between 
1820  and  1840.  Had  not  slavery  blocked  the  way,  these 
two  mighty  forces,  now  made  one,  would  have  carried  the 
nation  rapidly  forward  to  that  greatness  attained  only  in 
our  day.  The  new  struggle  differed  from  the  old  in  that  it- 
was  a  struggle  to  the  death,  and  although  compromises 
were  made,  they  only  postponed  the  fatal  day. 

The  earliest  struggle  of  far-reaching  importance  occurred 
in  the  constitutional  convention.  It  arose  over  questions 
of  representation,  direct  taxation,  and  commerce.  The 
immediate  cause  was  the  fact  that  the  slave  states  had  a 
smaller  white  population  than  the  free  states,,  and  hence 
would  be  in  a  minority  in  the  lower  house  of  congress. 
But  why  ?  Did  not  the  slave  states  have  a  richer  soil  and 
a  more  genial  climate  than  the  free  states  ?  Slavery  was 
hostile  to  population;  it  occupied  vast  estates,  built  few 
towns,  encouraged  but  one  occupation,  —  agriculture,— 
brought  the  white  laborer  into  competition  with  labor  con- 
suming the  coarsest  food  and  clothes,  built  no  public 
schools,  and  put  a  social  ban  upon  the  non-slaveholder. 


NATIONALITY   AND   SLAVERY.  207 

For  these  reasons  there  was  a  tendency,  in  early  times,  to 
avoid  the  South,  and  even  leave  it  for  the  North.  The 
tendency  became  a  movement  only  in  this  century.  After 
a  fierce  battle  the  convention  agreed  to  count  three-fifths 
of  the  slave  population  for  both  representatives  and  direct 
taxes.  The  South  was  predominantly  agricultural,  and, 
because  of  slavery,  had  only  a  narrow  range  of  agriculture. 
The  South  feared  commercial  restrictions  by  the  North,  and 
the  latter  opposed  the  African  slave-trade.  The  spirit  in 
which  these  contests  were  waged  is  seen  in  the  repeated 
threats  of  delegates  from  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia  to 
oppose  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution. 

The  weakness  which  forced  slavery  to  fight  in  self- 
defence,  and  the  spirit  in  which  it  conducted  the  contest, 
constitute  the  fundamental  causes  of  the  struggle  between 
nationality  and  slavery.  These  inhere  in  the  system  itself, 
and  from  the  constitutional  convention  to  the  Missouri 
Compromise  were  operating  against  slavery.  The  French 
Revolution  and  the  Napoleonic  wars  made  life  burdensome 
to  Europeans,  and  they  began  to  come  to  America.  Where 
did  they  go  ?  To  the  North.  At  the  same  time  the  slender 
stream  of  non-slaveholders,  emigrating  north  and  north- 
westward, was  growing  wider  and  deeper.  The  result  of 
this  movement  of  population  is  seen  in  the  growing  differ- 
ence in  the  number  of  congressmen  from  the  two  sections. 
In  1790  the  difference  was  but  four  in  favor  of  the  North ; 
in  1800  the  census  showed  this  to  be  twelve  ;  in  1810  it  had 
grown  to  twenty-five;  while  by  1820,  the  period  of  the 
Missouri  conflict,  the  gulf  had  widened  to  forty-three, 


208          ORGANIZATION    OP    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

In. spite  of  the  three-fifths  advantage,  slavery  had  hope- 
lessly lost  power  in  the  House.  The  inevitable  was  seen 
approaching,  and  the  battle  for  the  balance  of  power  had 
long  been  transferred  to  the  Senate.  The  states  are  equal 
here,  population  counting  little.  Since  1789  a  sort  of 
equilibrium  had  been  maintained  by  the  admission  of 
states.  Seven  of  the  thirteen  states  were  free  or  becom- 
ing so  in  1789,  and  six  were  slave.  The  admission  of 
Kentucky,  Vermont,  and  Tennessee  established  an  equi- 
librium. Ohio  destroyed  it  in  1802,  and  Louisiana  re- 
stored it  in  1812.  Indiana  in  1816,  Mississippi  in  1817, 
Illinois  in  1818,  and  Alabama  in  1819  alternately  destroyed 
and  restored  this  political  equality.  But  in  this  last  year 
Missouri  applied  for  admission  as  a  slave  state.  The 
North  took  the  alarm  ;  it  was  not  slavery's  turn,  and,  if  per- 
mitted, would  give  it  a  majority  of  two  senators, — enough  to 
block  legislation  and  the  admission  of  new  states.  Besides, 
slavery  had  encroached  geographically  upon  the  North,  for 
at  least  four-fifths  of  the  eastern  boundary  of  this  state 
rests  against  a  free  state.  Further  significance  is  given 
to  the  Missouri  application  by  remembering  that  there  are 
but  two  more  slave  territories, — Arkansas  and  Florida. 
Aside  from  the  political  questions  involved,  here  are  aggres- 
sions that  the  free  states  feel  must  be  resisted.  Another 
significant  fact  is  that  the  necessity  of  this  aggressive 
action  lies  in  the  defects  of  slavery  itself. 

The  spirit  in  which  slavery  conducted  the  controversy 
over  Missouri  is  made  clearer  by  its  attitude  in  the  case  of 
the  early  petitions  sent  to  congress  against  the  institution. 


NATIONALITY    AND    SLAVERY.  209 

These  were  generally,  in  Washington's  administration,  pre- 
sented by  Quakers,  requesting  congress  to  use  its  constitu- 
tional powers  t6  place  some  restriction  on  slavery.  The 
spirit  of  the  institution  is  revealed  in  the  following  argu- 
ments in  its  defence:  1.  The  Quakers  were  denounced  as 
hypocrites  and  cowards.  2.  The  petitions  were  uncon- 
stitutional, because  violating  guarantees  on  which  the 
South  ratified  the  Constitution.  3.  Emancipation  was  a 
curse,  and  would  lead  to  civil  war.  4.  The  Bible  and  the 
southern  clergy  were  not  opposed  to  slavery.  5.  The 
South  could  be  cultivated  by  negroes  only.  6.  The 
slave-trade  was  a  benefit  to  the  negro.  The  language 
was  more  intemperate  even  than  the  arguments,  and 
both  were  repeated  in  all  the  conflicts  between  1820  and 
I860.1 

1  The  slaveholder  was  a  product  of  his  environment,  and  a  different 
product  would  not  have  resulted  if  the  people  of  the  North  had  been 
inhabitants  of  the  South  from  colonial  days.  The  spirit  born  of  the 
system  is  well  stated  by  Jefferson :  "  There  must  doubtless  be  an  un- 
happy influence  on  the  manners  of  our  people,  produced  by  the  exist- 
ence of  slavery  among  us.  The  whole  commerce  between  master  and 
slave  is  a  perpetual  exercise  of  the  most  boisterous  passions,  the  most 
unremitting  despotism  on  the  one  part  and  degrading  submission  on 
the  other.  Our  children  see  this  and  learn  to  imitate  it.  ...  If  a 
parent  could  find  no  motive  either  in  his  philanthropy  or  his  self-love 
for  restraining  the  intemperance  of  his  passion  toward  his  slave,  it 
should  be  a  sufficient  one  that  his  child  looks  on,  catches  the  linea- 
ments of  wrath,  puts  on  the  same  airs  in  the  circle  of  smaller  slaves, 
gives  a  loose  rein  to  the  worst  of  passions,  and  thus  nursed,  educated, 
and  daily  exercised  in  tyranny,  cannot  but  be  stamped  by  it."  — 
Notes  on  the  State  of  Virginia,  pp.  109-170. 


210          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

Meaning  of  the  Missouri  Struggle.1  —  The  content  of 
this  event  has  been  partly  indicated.  The  effect  on  public 
sentiment  remains  to  be  noted.  This  will  be  best  under- 
stood in  the  light  of  the  characterizing  features  of  the 
event.  The  fight  opened  by  proposing  to  prohibit  the 
further  carrying  of  slaves  into  Missouri,  and  to  free  all  its 
future-born  slaves  upon  reaching  the  age  of  twenty-five. 
The  conflict  lasted  two  years  and  excited  the  earnest 
attention  of  both  sections.  Another  feature  of  significance 
is  found  in  the  depth  of  thought  and  passion  stirred. 
Feeling  ran  high  in  congress,  and  wild  scenes  were  enacted ; 
resistance  was  hinted,  civil  war  was  prophesied,  and 
threats  of  secession  were  frequently  made.  The  public 
participated  in  the  excitement ;  meetings  were  held  in 
town  and  city;  county  and  state  conventions,  grand  juries 
and  legislatures  joined  in  resolutions  and  protests.  North- 
ern congressmen,  in  some  instances,  were  burned  in  effigy 
by  their  irate  constituents.  Others  had  to  explain  or 
defend  their  votes. 

The  effects  of  the  battle  may  be  summarized  about  as 
follows:  1.  The  South  gained  Missouri,  but  Maine  was 
admitted,  thus  preserving  the  balance  of  power  in  the 
Senate.  2.  The  South  lost  all  territory  north  of  the 
southern  boundary  line  of  Missouri,  thus  apparently 

1  Aside  from  the  congressional  debates,  one  of  the  best  summaries 
of  the  arguments  presented  is  found  in  Von  Hoist,  vol.  i.  pp.  358-370. 
Schurz's  Clay,  vol.  i.  pp.  192-200,  gives  an  interesting  interpretation  of 
the  event.  McMaster,  vol.  iv.  pp.  570-600,  shows  the  manifestations 
of  popular  sentiment  over  the  affair. 


NATIONALITY   AND    SLAVERY.  211 

cramping  herself  beyond  recovery.  3.  The  compromise, 
in  effect,  decided  that  congress  could  prohibit  slavery  in 
territories,  thus  establishing  the  principle  of  the  future 
Free  Soil  platform.  4.  The  South  learned  that  the  weak 
point  in  the  North's  armor  was  the  fear  of  a  dissolution  of 
the  Union.  5.  Threats  of  disunion  carried  ominous  mean- 
ing because  both  sections  began  to  be  conscious  of  the  deep- 
seated  differences  separating  them.  Patriotic  men  like 
Jefferson  and  Clay  were  profoundly  alarmed  over  the  situ- 
ation ;  but  after  the  end  came,  public  interest  and  excite- 
ment quickly  disappeared.  There  was  yet  no  consciousness 
of  an  irrepressible  conflict.  6.  The  progress  of. pro-slavery 
sentiment  in  the  South  since  1787  is  seen  in  the  fact  that 
no  anti-slavery  advocate  appeared  among  her  congressmen, 
while  Virginia  delegates  in  the  constitutional  convention 
and  others  were  not  friends  to  slavery. 

Slavery  Nullifies  the  Tariff.  —  The  significance  of  the 
contest  between  the  nation  and  South  Carolina  is  found  in 
the  above  heading.  With  reference  to  its  causes  and 
mptives,  nullification  was  primarily  an  economic  and  social 
event;  secondarily,  a  political  one.  The  people  generally 
looked  upon  it  as  merely  a  factional  opposition  to  escape 
the  payment  of  the  tariff.  Some  believed  the  tariff  only 
an  excuse,  and  that  the  assertion  and  execution  of  the 
doctrine  of  nullification  was  the  real  motive  of  the  leaders. 
A  small  number  have  looked  upon  it  as  a  struggle  between 
leaders  of  factions  in  the  Democratic  party.  These  are 
superficial  interpretations  of  the  events  and  circumstances 
making  up  the  situation. 


212          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

The  disappearance  from  the  South  of  opposition  to 
slavery  and  the  rise  of  a  strong  pro-slavery  sentiment 
were  due  to  the  vast  development  of  the  cotton  industry 
during  the  first  quarter  of  this  century.  English  invention 
had  aided  in  creating  a  demand  for  cotton;  Whitney's  gin 
enabled  the  South  to  meet  that  demand.  These  new  con- 
ditions gave  slavery  a  fresh  lease  of  life  by  making  it 
profitable.  It  must  be  noted  that  the  growth  was  mainly 
along  old  lines,  —  merely  an  expansion  of  southern  agricul- 
ture. In  this  period  no  new  industries  were  born  in  the 
South,  and  she  failed  to  diversify  and  render  American 
industry  independent  of  European  competition.  The  in- 
ability of  slavery  to  profit  by  the  tariff  was  not  apparent 
to  southern  leaders  in  1816,  for  Calhoun,  among  others, 
was  then  a  warm  advocate  of  it.  The  experiment  with 
protection  from  1816  to  1828  revealed  to  leading  thinkers 
of  the  South  the  startling  fact  that  slavery  was  not  only 
unable  to  take  advantage  of  the  tariff,  but  was,  as  they 
thought,  greatly  injured  by  it.  Very  few  men  from  the 
cotton  states  voted  for  protection  in  1824  and  1828 ;  bnt 
in  spite  of  this  opposition,  the  tariff  gradually  rose  till  the 
climax  was  reached  in  1828. 

The  cry  arose,  How  can  the  South  protect  her  industrial 
system?  This  question  ought  to  be  translated  to  read: 
How  can  slavery  be  extricated  from  the  position  in  which 
it  has  placed  itself  ?  In  searching  for  a  shield  for  slavery 
and  its  interests,  it  was  found  in  the  old  dogma  of  state 
sovereignty,  which  had  done  service  in  former  days  for 
both  Republicans  and  Federalists.  The  theory  of  the 


NATIONALITY    AND    SLAVERY.  213 

Kentucky  and  Virginia  resolutions  was  now  to  receive  a 
new  interpretation.  Calhoun  elaborated  this  doctrine  for 
his  people  by  his  famous  "  South  Carolina  Exposition  "  in 
1828.  He  pointed  out  a  supposed  permanent  dissimilarity 
between  the  "staple  states"  and  the  remainder  of  the 
nation.  This  rests,  he  held,  on  differences  in  soil,  climate, 
habits,  and  peculiar  labor.1  The  remedy  against  legisla- 
tion injurious  to  these  interests  is  a  veto  of  it  by  the  state. 
The  next  step  in  the  process  was  the  Webster-Hayne  debate 
in  1830.  Hayne  promulgated  in  congress  the  doctrine  of 
state  sovereignty,  with  its  accompanying  "compact"  theory 
of  the  national  Constitution,  and  nullification  as  a  rightful 
and  peaceable  remedy.  Hayne  spoke  for  the  past,  for 
slavery  was  of  the  past.  Webster's  argument  embodied 
all  the  mighty  evolution  of  national  life,  both  actual  and 
potential.  He  spoke  for  the  future,  for  nationality  was 
of  the  future.  To  casual  observers  this  seemed  a  repetition 
of  the  old  struggle  between  nationality  and  state  sov- 
ereignty, but  was  fundamentally  a  hand-to-hand  combat 
between  nationality  and  slavery.  The  next  move  was  to 
commit  Jackson  to  the  new  movement  by  surrounding  him 
with  a  nullification  atmosphere  at  the  Jefferson  banquet; 
but  his  volunteer  toast,  "The  federal  Union,  it  must  be 

1  This  statement  was  generally  accepted  then,  and  is  of  ten  believed 
true  now ;  but  it  is  easy  to  see  that  slavery  alone  put  the  South  in  a 
position  where  it  could  not  profit  by  the  national  policy  of  protection. 
Soil,  climate,  and  natural  products  alone  would  not  have  created 
dissimilar  and  conflicting  interests.  The  proof  of  this  is  found  in  the 
development  of  diversified  industries  in  the  South  to-day. 


214          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

preserved,"  was  the  end  of  their  hopes.  Disappointed  in 
Jackson,  Calhoun  issued  "An  Appeal  to  the  People  of  South 
Carolina,"  in  July,  1831,  in  which  he  restated,  in  stronger 
terms  and  with  more  elaboration  than  in  the  "  Exposition," 
the  doctrines  of  nullification.  In  and  out  of  congress  it  was 
felt  that  a  crisis  could  be  avoided  only  by  a  reduction  of 
the  tariff.  This  was  done  in  1832,  but  the  principle  of 
protection  was  preserved.  Once  more  the  great  leader 
seized  his  pen,  and  emphasized  the  right  of  the  state  to 
nullify  an  act  of  congress  deemed  injurious  to  its  interests. 
The  legislature  called  a  state  convention,  and  in  Novem- 
ber of  1832  the  famous  ordinance  was  passed  nullifying 
the  tariffs  of  1828  and  1832.  Provisions  were  made  for 
executing  the  decree  by  force,  if  necessary.  Jackson 
promptly  issued  his  great  proclamation  demolishing  the 
doctrine  of  nullification,  and  declaring  his  resolution  to 
enforce  the  laws  of  the  nation.  Clay's  compromise  tariff 
probably  prevented  a  collision  between  the  state  and 
national  forces.  The  great  bulk  of  the  nation,  irrespec- 
tive of  party,  applauded  the  president.  State  legislatures 
promptly  condemned  the  conduct  of  South  Carolina.  Nulli- 
fication as  a  peaceful  remedy  was  discredited  ;  it  could  be 
applied  only  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.  Nationality  was 
strengthened  in  Jackson's  party,  especially  in  the  North 
and  West.  In  the  midst  of  the  noise  and  excitement,  few 
persons  saw  slavery  masquerading  in  the  disguise  of  state 
sovereignty.  Fewer  still  saw  that  the  compromise  did  not 
go  to  the  root  of  the  matter,  and  that  the  real  cause  of  the 
trouble  was  still  operative. 


NATIONALITY   AND    SLAVERY.  215 

Meaning  of  the  Movement  for  Texas.  —  This  is  the 
old  question  in  a  new  form :  How  can  slavery  escape  its 
own  ills  ?  There  are  two  reasons  why  it  must  have  Texas. 
First,  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  system  in  the  old  states 
was  so  enormous  that  new  lands  must  be  had  to  enable  it 
to  prosper.  Second,  the  South  needed  more  votes  in  the 
Senate,  especially  since  the  anti-slavery  movement  was 
growing.  The  method  was  simple  and  the  steps  few. 
Slaveholders  emigrated  to  Texas  for  one  or  both  of  these 
reasons.  Mexico  abolished  slavery.  The  American  slave- 
holders in  Texas  refused  to  submit,  raised  the  standard  of 
revolt,  issued  a  declaration  of  independence,  and  defeated 
the  Mexicans  by  the  aid  of  citizens  of  the  United  States, 
who  forwarded  both  munitions  and  men.1  Mexico  refused 
to  ratify  Texan  independence  which  Sam  Houston  wrung 
from  Santa  Anna  at  San  Jacinto  in  1835.  A  government 
was  organized  and  application  made  for  admission  to  the 
United  States.  Jackson  and  the  South  favored  the  appli- 
cation, but  feared  northern  sentiment.  Petitions  from  the 
North  poured  in  on  congress  against  annexation.  The  South 
tried  to  make  it  a  national  question  by  arguing  for  an  exten- 
sion of  the  national  domain ;  calling  for  its  "  reannexation," 
asserting  it  was  once  a  part  of  the  Louisiana  purchase  and 
needlessly  given  up;  appealing  to  prejudice  against  England, 
which  was  represented  as  intriguing  with  the  new  republic. 

In  spite  of  all  these  reasons,  opposition  at  the  North 
steadily  grew,  and  forced  the  postponement  of  annexation 
during  the  administration  of  Van  Buren  and  the  greater 
1  The  author  does  not  enumerate  all  the  causes  of  the  Texan  revolution. 


216          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

part  of  Tyler's.  When  annexation  did  come  in  1845,  the 
two  sections  were  gradually  becoming  conscious  of  a  grow- 
ing contrariety  of  interests.  From  this  time  on,  if  not 
from  an  earlier  date,  every  question  of  importance  was 
viewed  by  the  American  people  in  its  relation  to  slavery. 
The  process  of  sectionalization  had  begun  in  earnest. 

THE  GROWTH  OF  SECTIONALIZATION. 

The  Process  already  Begun.  —  The  beginnings  of  new 
movements  frequently  find  their  opportunity  at  the  point 
of  triumph  of  older  movements.  In  the  decade  from  1830 
to  1840,  democracy  and  nationality  triumphed  together. 
While  these  two  forces  were  reveling  in  their  mutual  vic- 
tory, sectionalization  was  already  raising  its  head. 

We  have  already  discovered  that  the  active  and  aggres- 
sive cause  of  this  movement  was  an  inherent  weakness  in 
slavery  itself ;  that  an  attempt  to  overcome  this  led  to  the 
political  and  economic  conflicts  over  the  admission  of 
Missouri,  the  nullification  of  the  tariff,  and  the  annexation 
of  Texas  ;  and  that  slavery  sought  out  state  sovereignty  as 
its  shield  of  defence.  This  forced  the  nation  and  the  sec- 
tion into  conflict. 

The  above  contests  gave  opportunity  to  the  opponents  of 
slavery  on  moral  and  religious  grounds.  This  old  enemy 
slavery  affected  to  despise,  but  it  was  the  most  dangerous  of 
all,  because  not  influenced  by  political  considerations,  and 
was  likely  to  be  most  persistent  and  radical.  The  proof 
that  both  sections  were  becoming  conscious  of  increasing 


NATIONALITY   AND    SLAVERY.  217 

differences  of  interests  .and  ideas  is  found  in  the  following 
points  : 

1.  It   is   revealed  in  speeches   of   leading  men.     John 
Quincy  Adams  on  annexation  :  "  Your  trial  is  approaching. 
The  spirit  of  freedom  and  the  spirit  of  slavery  are  drawing 
together  for  a  deadly  conflict  of  arms.  .  .  .  Young  men  of 
Boston,  burnish  up  your  armor  and  prepare  for  the  con- 
flict."    Jackson  pronounced  this  "  a  direct  appeal  to  arms  " 
to  oppose  the  annexation  of  Texas.     Several,  in  speaking 
on  the  subject,  said  :  "  To  increase  the  slaveholding  power 
is  to  subvert  the  Constitution  :  to  give  a  fearful  prepon- 
derance which  may,  and  probably  will,  be  speedily  followed 
by  demands  to  which  the  democratic  free-labor  states  can- 
not yield,  and  the   denial  of  which  will   be   made   the 
ground   of    secession,  nullification,  and   disunion."      The 
South  Carolinian  in  1844  said  :  "  This  question  absorbs  all 
others.  .  .  .    Whigs  and  Democrats  drop  all  their  old  party 
differences  and  unite  on  it  like  brothers.  .  .  .     This  is  a 
question  not  of  party,  but  of  country,  and  to  the  South  one" 
of  absolute  self-preservation.  .  .  .     The  only  hope  of  the 
South  is  in  herself."     Similar  sentiments  are  found  in  a 
few  other  papers.     A  call  for  a  convention  of  the  friends 
of  annexation  was  issued  by  these  papers.     Their  motto 
was  :  "  Texas  with,  or  Texas  without,  the  Union."     The 
idea  of  a  convention  of  slave  states  was  born,  but  did  not 
materialize. 

2.  The  movement  toward  sectionalization  is  seen  again 
in  the  rapid  rise  at  the  North  of  anti-slavery  sentiment, 
which,  in  its  aggressive   beginning,  ran   parallel   to   the 


218          ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

attempt  of  the  South  to  beat  down  the  tariff,  and  maintain 
its  supremacy  in  the  Senate  by  seizing  and  annexing  Texas. 
Lundy,  with  his  Genius  of  Universal  Emancipation,  and 
Garrison,  with  his  Liberator,  had  prepared  the  way  for  the 
organization  of  the  enemies  of  slavery  into  the  American 
Anti-Slavery  Society  (1833).  From  now  on,  this  organiza- 
tion, with  an  increasing  number  of  state  societies,  demanded 
the  abolition  of  slavery.  To  this  end  it  tried  to  educate 
public  sentiment  in  many  ways,  but  most  effectively  by 
pouring  petitions  into  congress  against  the  slave-trade, 
slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  the  annexation  of 
Texas.  The  success  of  annexation  led  to  a  rapid  decline  of 
the  anti-slavery  opposition  based  on  political  consideration, 
but  it  left  in  the  North  a  very  great  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  determined  abolitionists. 

3.  A  third  evidence  of  the  progress  of  this  anti-national 
process  is  found  in  the  congressional  battle  over  the  right 
of  petition.  From  Washington's  administration,  the  slave- 
holders showed  much  sensitiveness  over  petitions  relating 
to  slavery.  Now  they  gave  an  enormous  impulse  to  the 
anti-slavery  cause  by  refusing  any  sort  of  hearing  to  such 
appeals.  This  made  anti-slavery  men  into  abolitionists, 
thoughtful  men  into  enemies  of  slavery,  and  indifferent 
men  into  thoughtful  ones.  The  increase  of  anti-slavery 
petitions  led  to  the  passage  of  the  gag  resolutions  as  a 
means  of  suppressing  them  ;  but  the  rising  tide  of  opposition, 
led  by  John  Quincy  Adams,  finally  beat  down  this  barrier 
in  1844.  Not  only  did  the  North  hate  slavery  more  for 
its  willingness  to  override  ^he  most  sacred  constitutional 


NATIONALITY    AND    SLAVERY.  219 

rights,  but  also  because  it  exhibited  almost  unbearable  in- 
tolerance toward  the  old  hero  who  waged  the  battle  against 
its  aggression. 

4.  In  1840  a  new  party  —  the  Liberty  —  was  born,  and 
cast  nearly  seven  thousand  votes  for  abolition.     In  1844 
its  vote  ran  up  to  over  sixty  thousand,  being  joined  this 
year  by  several  thousand  anti-slavery  Whigs.     This  vote 
defeated    Henry  Clay  for  the  presidency.      The  feeling 
which  led  several  thousand  Whigs  in  New  York  to  ignore 
party  ties  and  vote  against  the  idol  of  the  party  is  most 
significant  indeed. 

5.  In  no  sphere  of  activity  was  the  tendency  toward 
denationalization  stronger  than  in  the  church.      One  cause 
of  the  dissensions  among  the  Presbyterians  in  1838  was 
the  growing  divergence  of  opinion  on  slavery.     A  battle 
over  slavery  was  fought  in  the  Methodist  Church,  resulting 
in  its   dismemberment  by  the  secession  of  the  southern 
conferences   in  1844.     Men,  both   North  and  South,  saw 
that  it  portended  the  dissolution  of  the  Union.     In  this 
same   period   the   Baptist   Church   was   also  rent  by  the 
slavery  question.     Thus  were  the  interests  and  feelings  of 
the  two  sections  moving  away  from  each  other,  and  making 
it  more  impossible  each  year  for  the  people  to  act  as  a 
nation  on  questions  immediately,  or   even  remotely,  con- 
nected with  slavery.     The  wedge  of  separation,  driven  by 
the  blows  of  slavery,  had  entered  the  Union. 

Motive  and  Results  of  the  Mexican  War.  —  Slavery 
had  annexed  Texas,  but  was  not  satisfied ;  its  ambition 
had  grown  with  its  opportunity,  and  was  not  to  stop  short 


220          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

of  the  Pacific  Ocean  as  its  western  limit.  Two  things 
opened  the  way  :  1.  Several  million  dollars  of  fraudulent 
claims  against  Mexico  and  a  disputed  boundary  line. 
Slavery  saw  in  these  an  opportunity  for  possessions  far 
more  extensive  than  Texas.  Why  negotiate  for  peace 
when  war  promised  unlimited  expansion  of  slavery  to  the 
westward  ?  2.  The  diplomatic  correspondence  and  the 
conduct  of  the  governmental  agents  of  the  United  States 
show  slavery's  determination  to  have  California  by  peace 
or  war.  The  order  which  sent  American  troops  into  the 
disputed  territory  furnishes  additional  proof  of  this,  and 
every  victory  of  the  American  arms,  from  Palo  Alto  to 
Scott's  triumphal  entry  into  the  Mexican  capital,  meant,  in 
the  minds  of  the  promoters  of  the  war,  more  slave  territory. 
The  masses  of  the  people  probably  did  not  understand 
all  the  relations  involved  in  the  war  ;  they  supported  it 
mainly  from  patriotic  or  military  ardor,  little  conscious 
that  their  greatest  industrial  and  social  enemy  was  throw- 
ing dust  while  it  sought  an  impregnable  position  in  the 
nation.  However,  the  more  thoughtful  did  see  the  trend 
of  things,  if  not  at  the  opening  of  the  war,  during  its 
progress.  The  country  was  warned  by  abolitionists  ;  and 
when  the  president  asked,  in  1846,  for  two  million  dollars 
to  aid  in  making  peace,  eyes  were  opened,  and  both  Whigs 
and  Democrats  at  the  North  supported  the  Wilmot  Pro- 
viso, which  proposed  to  apply  to  the  possible  territory  the 
clause  which  excluded  slavery  from  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory. Almost  without  regard  to  party  this  measure  was 
supported  or  opposed,  and  marks  an  important  step  in 


NATIONALITY    AND   SLAVERY.  221 

denationalization.  While  Calhoun  had  opposed  the  war 
as  dangerous  to  slavery  in  the  end,  now  he  fought  the 
proviso  with  all  the  logic  of  his  powerful  mind.  He 
developed  before  the  Senate  the  doctrine  that  congress 
could  make  no  law  impairing  the  right  of  a  citizen  to  carry 
his  property  into  the  territories.  This  was  a  new  and 
aggressive  position,  and,  if  supported  by  the  South,  would 
produce  a  solid  North.  The  Wilmot  Proviso  was  defeated, 
however,  by  a  small  majority,  on  account  of  votes  given  by 
those  who  feared  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  and  those  who 
feared  no  territory  at  all  would  be  obtained. 

The  slaveholders  began  to  say  that  no  friend  of  the 
Wilmot  Proviso  could  ever  be  president,  while  even  the 
northern  Democrats,  particularly  in  New  York,  under  the 
name  of  Barnburners,  began  to  break  away  from  their 
southern  brethren.  This  defection  was  made  formidable 
in  1848,  when  nearly  all  anti-slavery  factions  united  on 
Martin  Van  Buren  under  the  name  of  Free  Soil  party. 
They  asserted  it  to  be  the  power  and  duty  of  congress  to 
protect  the  territories  from  slavery.  This  was  embodied 
in  their  platform  —  the  principle  which  was  to  produce  a 
completer  sectionalization  of  parties  than  anything  yet 
seen.  Calhoun  had  denied  congressional  intervention  in 
the  territories,  the  Free  Soil  party  had  demanded  it.  On 
the  part  of  the  North,  this  was  a  reassertion  of  the  doctrine 
of  the  Ordinance  of  1787  touching  slavery,  the  sentiment 
contained  in  legislative  instructions  against  the  admission 
of  Missouri  as  a  slave  state,  and  the  principle  of  the 
Wilmot  Proviso.  It  is  significant  that  both  of  the  old 


222         ORGANIZATION    OF   AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

parties  refused  to  commit  themselves  on  this  point.  The 
Democrats  nominated  a  northern  man,  General  Cass,  and 
the  Whigs  a  southern  man  and  slaveholder,  General  Tay- 
lor ;  and  both  ignored  slavery  as  far  as  possible.  This 
only  proves  that  each  section  feared  the  defection  of  the 
other.  In  spite  of  this  care,  Democratic  states,  like  South 
Carolina,  threw  their  votes  for  the  slaveholding  Whig 
rather  than  for  the  non-slaveholding  Democrat ;  Whig 
Ohio  gave  over  sixteen  thousand  majority  for  the  Demo- 
cratic non-slaveholder,  besides  over  thirty-five  thousand 
votes  to  the  Free  Soil  party ;  while  in  Michigan,  Taylor's 
vote  was  less  than  Clay's  in  1844,  although  the  Democratic 
gain  in  four  years  was  less  than  three  thousand.  The 
Free  Soil  vote  in  the  same  time  had  gained  nearly  three 
hundred  per  cent.  Calhoun  was  right  in  opposing  the 
Mexican  war,  and  had  his  opposition  included  the  move- 
ment for  Texas,  he  might  have  prevented  the  rising  hos- 
tility of  the  North. 

How  the  Discovery  of  Gold  in  California  Aided  in 
Sectionalizing  the  Nation.  —  The  treaty  with  Mexico  was 
hardly  made  before  gold  was  discovered  in  California. 
As  the  news  spread  over  the  nation  large  numbers  started 
for  the  new  land.  They  forsook  all  occupations  and  went 
by  all  routes  :  over  the  mountains,  across  the  Isthmus, 
and  around  the  Cape.  In  1849  this  hardy  population 
organized  for  statehood.  A  free-state  constitution  was 
adopted  by  the  convention  without  a  dissenting  vote  on 
the  prohibition  of  slavery,  and  it  was  ratified  by  a  vast 
majority  of  the  people.  The  people  of  the  territory  had 


NATIONALITY   AND   SLAVERY.  223 

put  the  substance  of  the  Wilmot  Proviso  into  their  consti- 
tution. Thus,  by  action  of  the  settlers  themselves,  slavery 
was  deprived  of  the  richest  fruit  of  the  war.  Why  did 
freedom  win  in  the  territory  acquired  for  aid  by  its  rival  ? 
Slavery,  we  have  seen,  was  immobile;  it  had  a  scanty 
white  population,  and  was  tied,  as  it  were,  to  the  soil. 
It  had  no  emigrants  to  spare,  and  if  it  had,  they  must  have 
carried  slaves  as  well  as  themselves.  Therefore  California 
was  lost  by  slavery  itself.  The  same  old  cause  forced  and 
lost  the  battle  as  in  the  days  of  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion, the  struggle  for  Missouri,  and  in  the  fight  over  the 
tariff  and  nullification.  This  experience  ought  to  have 
convinced  Calhoun  that  congressional  non-intervention 
would  not  save  slavery  in  the  territories. 

The  slaveholders  were  furious  over  the  prospect  of  not 
only  losing  the  Mexican  cessions  for  slavery,  but  of  its 
being  added  to  freedom's  growing  power.  Great  southern 
Whigs  like  Stephens  and  Toombs  began  now  to  cooperate 
with  slaveholding  Democrats  in  resisting  this  result. 
Eight  southern  Whigs  deserted  the  caucus  of  their  party 
because  it  refused  to  resolve  against  legislation  on  the 
subject  of  slavery.  The  Free  Soilers  refused  also  to 
support  the  Whig  nominee  for  Speaker.  During  the  three 
weeks'  contest  over  the  Speakership,  it  was  no  unusual 
thing  for  southern  congressmen  to  declare  that  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Wilmot  Proviso,  or  the  abolition  of  slavery  in 
the  District,  would  be  a  sufficient  cause  of  disunion.  The 
fear  of  this  caused  the  North  to  weaken,  and  a  slaveholder 
was  elected  Speaker  by  a  few  votes. 


224         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

The  Compromise  of  1850.  —  This  event,  as  an  effect, 
embodies  the  results  flowing  from  the  annexation  of  Texas 
and  the  Mexican  war.  As  a  phase  of  public  sentiment  it 
is  the  first  conscious  crisis  in  the  process  of  sectionalization. 
How  the  consciousness  of  this  crisis  arose  and  expressed 
itself  furnishes  the  first  half  of  the  content  of  this  impor- 
tant event.  Had  not  the  conviction  that  the  Union  was 
in  danger  been  deeply  grounded,  no  such  compromise 
would  have  been  possible.  It  is  not  necessary  here  to 
detail  the  provisions  of  the  compromise,  or  explain  how 
the  bill  as  such  did  not  pass,  while  its  leading  provisions 
became  law. 

The  struggle  in  congress  was  unusually  significant. 
The  champions  of  the  old  order  of  things  were  met  by 
leaders  of  a  new  regime.  Clay  and  Webster  stood  for  the 
Union.  This  was  certainly  Clay's  dominant  motive,  and 
the  spirit  and  zeal  of  his  appeals  prove  the  depth  of  his 
conviction  that  the  Union  was  in  danger  from  both  north- 
ern and  southern  radicals.  Webster  was  also  powerfully 
impelled  by  the  same  noble  desire  in  his  famous  "  seventh 
of  March  speech."  Whether  his  severer  strictures  upon 
anti-slavery  agitators  than  upon  pro-slavery  radicals  were 
due  to  his  desire  to  be  president  rather  than  to  strengthen 
the  Union  is  a  disputed  question.  To  the  old  leaders  and 
to  most  of  their  followers,  the  Union  had  been  almost 
everything,  and  its  destruction  seemed  to  threaten  chaos. 
The  speeches  of  these  two  men  attracted  wide-spread  atten- 
tion, and  called  hundreds  to  Washington  to  hear  them. 
The  significance  of  Calhoun's  speech  was  in  the  emphasis 


NATIONALITY   AND   SLAVERY.       .•  225 

placed  upon  equal  political  power  between  the  two  sections 
as  the  condition  upon  which  the  South  could  remain  in  the 
Union.  This  was  a  condition  impossible  of  fulfillment. 
First,  because  the  North  would  not  agree  to  it.  Second, 
because,  even  if  such  an  agreement  was  reached,  it  could 
not  be  maintained  for  the  reason  that  it  proposed  to  make 
a  minority  equal  to  a  majority.  Slavery  made  the  South 
a  minority  section ;  in  respect  to  population,  industry, 
education,  and  all  that  constitutes  progressive  civilization, 
slavery  forced  the  South  into  a  position  of  increasing 
inferiority.  Every  decade  would  have  revealed  the  grow- 
ing injustice  of  such  a  plan  of  peace. 

In  these  debates  appeared  the  champions  of  a  new 
cause.  Here  men  like  Seward  and  Chase,  having  broken 
from  the  traditions  of  the  old  parties  on  slavery,  spoke  for 
freedom  and  the  future.  Here  it  was  that  the  former 
announced  the  "  higher  law,"  which  constituted  his  most 
significant  utterance.  He  held  that  compromises  would 
avail  nothing,  and  that  slavery  should  be  dealt  with  for 
the  highest  good  of  the  people.  Seward  was  the  represen- 
tative of  an  increasing  number  of  northern  Whigs  ;  hence 
the  alarm  of  the  South  at  the  doctrines  announced  in  his 
speech.  This  alarm  was  deepened  by  the  way  Webster 
was  berated  in  New  England  for  his  part  in  the  great 
debate. 

The  passage  of  the  leading  measures  of  the  compromise 
seemed  to  allay  agitation  for  a  time.  "  Union  "  meetings 
were  held  in  various  parts  of  the  nation,  at  which  both 
Whigs  and  Democrats,  appeared  to  promote  fraternal  rela- 


226         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

tions  between  the  sections.  The  rising  sentiment  in  the 
South  in  favor  of  secession  subsided  somewhat.  A  con- 
vention of  states  was  held  in  Nashville  in  June,  1850, 
but  few  representatives  were  present  and  little  unanimity 
found.  The  most  significant  thing  was  the  fact  that  the 
convention  was  held.  It  met  again  in  November  and 
asserted  the  right  of  secession,  but  this  represented  only 
radical  southern  opinion,  and  met  no  general  response. 

Both  of  the  old  parties  tried  hard  to  support  the  com- 
promise as  a  "  finality."  Resolutions  in  caucus  and  before 
congress  served  rather  to  divide  the  Whig  party.  In 
state  conventions  the  compromise  was  generally  supported, 
and  in  both  the  great  national  conventions  of  1852  it 
received  renewed  pledges  of  fidelity.  But  it  was  felt  that 
the  Whigs  were  less  in  earnest  than  the  Democrats  ;  many 
southern  Whigs,  therefore,  supported  their  old  opponents. 
The  Free  Soil  vote  of  1852  was  greatly  reduced  as  com- 
pared with  1848,  but  was  more  than  double  that  of  1844. 

The  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill.  —  The  overwhelming  success 
of  the  Democrats  still  added  to  the  delusion  that  the  great 
compromise  was  a  finality;  but  the  South  could  not  forget 
its  loss  of  California  nor  the  North  forgive  the  fugitive- 
slave  law.  The  execution  of  this  law  exasperated  the 
abolitionists,  and  led  states  to  pass  laws  which  greatly 
limited  its  efficiency.  This  conduct  was  indefensible  in  a 
legal  sense,  and  was  practical  nullification.  Only  moral 
ground  —  the  "higher  law"  —could  be  urged  in  its  de- 
fence. The  compromise  of  1850  applied  the  principle  of 
popular  sovereignty  to  the  territories  of  New  Mexico  and 


NATIONALITY   AND   SLAVERY.  227 

Utah.  This  was  the  doctrine  of  congressional  non-inter- 
vention, leaving,  as  it  did,  the  question  of  slavery  to  be 
determined  by  the  settlers  of  the  territories. 

Early  in  1854  Senator  Douglas  introduced  a  bill  embody- 
ing this  idea  for  the  organization  of  the  territory  now 
included  within  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  Not  much  opposi- 
tion to  the  application  of  non-intervention  in  1850  was 
made  by  either  section,  but  now  it  raised  a  storm  in  the 
North  which  raged  till  swallowed  up  by  war.  The  present 
application  was  to  the  territory  obtained  from  Louisiana 
and  devoted  to  freedom  by  the  Missouri  Compromise,  which 
had  now  stood  unassailed  for  more  than  a  generation. 
While  slavery  had  not  asked  this  favor,  its  congressmen, 
Whigs  as  well  as  Democrats,  supported  the  bill,  while  half 
the  northern  Democrats  in  the  House  joined  the  majority 
of  northern  Whigs  in  opposition.  The  bill's  majority  was 
only  thirteen,  —  a  most  significant  vote,  considering  the 
great  majority  held  by  the  administration. 

The  dissolution  of  parties  outside  of  congress  went  on 
more  rapidly  than  in  congress.  In  the  extreme  slave 
states  the  Whig  party  rapidly  disappeared,  while  in  the 
North  anti-slavery  Whigs  and  Democrats  coalesced  in 
opposition  to  the  agressions  of  slavery.  It  seemed  to  the 
North  that  slavery,  having  failed  to  get  possession  of 
California,  was  making  a  flank  movement  to  possess  all 
remaining  territory.  To  the  South  it  appeared  entirely 
consistent  to  apply  the  principle  of  non-intervention  to  all 
territories  alike.  The  process  of  sectionalizing  politics 
was  powerfully  intensified  by  the  effort  of  the  two  sections 


228          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

to  gist  possession  of  Kansas.  Both  saw  that  possession  of 
Kansas  was  a  question  of  numbers,  but  they  did  not  at 
first  see  that  the  North  alone  could  win ;  it  had  the  white 
population  to  spare.  The  South  was  weakened  by  a  sparse 
population,  and  only  the  slaveholders  with  their  slaves 
could  make  Kansas  a  slave  state.  The  Emigrant  Aid 
Society  was  an  impossible  organization  for  the  South. 
Thus  handicapped  by  the  system  she  would  save,  her 
leaders  were  compelled  to  resort  to  force  and  fraud  in 
setting  up  a  government.  The  free-state  settlers  retaliated 
and  civil  war  broke  out.  For  several  years  both  sections 
were  profoundly  agitated  by  the  conflict. 

One  of  the  immediate  results  of  the  new  agitation  was 
the  formation  of  the  Republican  party.  It  adopted  the 
principles  and  absorbed  the  membership  of  the  Free  Soil 
party  ;  but  the  largest  contingent  was  furnished  by  the 
northern  Whigs  whose  party  was  practically  disbanded. 
The  large  accessions  from  the  old  parties  added  that 
respectability  which  comes  from  numbers  and  experienced 
leadership.  The  masses  of  the  voters  made  the  new  party 
more  popular  in  its  tendency  than  had  been  the  Whigs. 
The  leaders  were  mainly  old  Whigs  and  nationalized 
Democrats,  whose  views  of  the  Constitution  were  after  the 
school  of  Hamilton  rather  than  that  of  Jefferson.  The 
new  party  cast  more  than  a  million  three  hundred  thou- 
sand votes  two  years  later  (1856),  after  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise.  It  would  probably  have  won  had 
the  Know  Nothing  party  been  out  of  the  way  with  its 
remnant  of  timid  Whigs.  The  fact  of  striking  significance 


NATIONALITY    AND    SLAVERY.  229 

in  the  vote  is  that  less  than  twelve  hundred  ballots  were 
cast  in  the  slave  states  for  Fre'mont,  and  these  only  in  the 
border  states.  Were  there  only  twelve  hundred  non-slave- 
holding  whites  in  the  South  who  recognized  slavery  as 
their  greatest  foe  ?  Again,  the  Democratic  party  lost  all 
the  northern  states  except  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
Indiana,  and  Illinois,  and  its  total  majority  in  these  four 
states  was  several  thousand  less  than  the  total  vote  of  the 
American  party.  When  this  party  disappears,  will  not  its 
vote  leave  the  Democrats  sectionalized  as  far  as  majorities 
are  concerned  ? 

The  Dred  Scott  Decision.  —  This  rising  tide  of  anti- 
slavery  sentiment  was  threatening  to  overflow  all  bounds. 
All  departments  of  the  government,  except  the  judiciary, 
had  been  called  in  and  had  failed  to  find  the  remedy. 
Would  not  the  people's  profound  regard  for  the  purity 
and  dignity  of  the  national  judiciary  lead  them  to  obey  its 
behests  on  the  slavery  question  ?  Would  it  not  be  risking 
too  much  to  drag  this  noble  tribunal  into  the  mad  swirl  of 
sectional  politics  ?  In  1857  the  Supreme  Court  handed 
down  a  decision  to  the  effect  that  slavery  could  not  be 
excluded  from  the  territories.  The  significance  of  this 
decision  lies  in  several  points:  1.  The  audacity  of  the 
venture.  2.  The  apparent  purpose  of  the  slave  power  to 
fasten  slavery  on  Kansas  by  this  means.  3.  Its  complete 
nullification  of  the  doctrine  of  popular  sovereignty.  4.  The 
denial  of  the  Free  Soil  principles  of  the  Republican  party, 
thus  asserting  it  to  be  hostile  to  the  Constitution.  5.  Its 
utter  denial  of  the  right  of  slaves  to  be  considered  even  as 


230          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

citizens  in  the  meaning  of  the  Constitution,  and  the  impli- 
cation "  that  they  had  no  rights  which  the  white  man  was 
bound  to  respect."  6.  On  account  of  the  inflamed  state 
of  the  public  mind,  little  respect  was  paid  to  the  decision, 
and  the  fight  in  Kansas  went  rapidly  forward. 

The  Lincoln-Douglas  Debate.  —  In  the  course  of  events, 
both  parties  in  Kansas  framed  constitutions,  set  up  gov- 
ernments, and  applied  for  admission.  The  administration 
favored  the  pro-slavery  constitution  which  had  been  carried 
by  fraud  and  violence.  It  was  such  a  travesty  on  popular 
sovereignty  that  public  sentiment  forced  many  Democrats 
in  congress,  among  them  Douglas,  to  oppose  the  admission 
of  Kansas  with  a  fraudulent  slave  constitution.  This  was 
the  beginning  of  a  breach  in  the  northern  Democracy. 

In  1858  occurred  the  Lincoln-Douglas  debate,  an  event 
carrying  far-reaching  consequences.  The  term  of  Senator 
Douglas  of  Illinois  was  about  to  expire.  He  was  the  idol 
of  the  northern  Democrats,  and  was  admired  by  many 
opponents  for  his  manly  stand  against  forcing  a  pro-slavery 
constitution  upon  Kansas.  The  Republicans  of  Illinois 
nominated  Abraham  Lincoln  as  their  candidate  for  the 
senatorship.  Before  the  nominating  convention,  Lincoln 
made  his  famous  house-divided-against-itself  speech. 
Douglas  immediately  attacked  this  speech  with  great  spirit. 
Lincoln  challenged  him  to  public  debate  before  the  people 
of  Illinois.  Seven  joint  debates  were  arranged.  It  was  a 
battle  royal,  and  attracted  general  attention  throughout  the 
United  States.  Only  one  question  was  discussed  —  slavery. 
On  the  first  day  Douglas  set  a  trap  to  prove  Lincoln  an 


NATIONALITY   AND    SLAVERY.  231 

abolitionist ;  it  consisted  of  a  set  of  questions  so  worded 
that  each  practically  answered  itself.  Lincoln  broke  the 
force  of  the  questions  by  his  skillful  answers,  and  in  turn 
propounded  a  set  of  questions  which  contained  two  pitfalls, 
into  one  of  which  Douglas  must  fall  or  refuse  to  answer 
the  questions  ;  in  case  he  refused,  he  would  really  fall  into 
both.  The  pivotal  question  of  the  set  was:  "Can  the 
people  of  a  United  States  territory,  in  any  lawful  way, 
against  the  wish  of  any  citizen  of  the  United  States,  ex- 
clude slavery  from  its  limits  prior  to  the  formation  of 
a  state  constitution  ?  "  "  It  matters  not  what  way  the 
Supreme  Court  may  hereafter  decide  as  to  the  abstract 
question  whether  slavery  may  or  may  not  go  into  a  terri- 
tory under  the  Constitution ;  the  people  have  the  lawful 
means  to  introduce  it  or  exclude  it  as  they  please."  This 
answer  made  Douglas  senator  again,  but  lost  him  the  presi- 
dency, as  such  doctrine  was  now  wormwood  and  gall  to  the 
South ;  from  now  on  the  differences  between  the  northern 
and  southern  Democracy  were  irreconcilable,  Sectionali- 
zation  of  political  feeling  in  the  South  rapidly  hastened  to 
completion. 

Other  Symptoms  of  the  Triumph  of  Sectionalization.  — 
From  the  passage  of  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  the  gulf 
rapidly  widened.  The  following  hastened  and  at  the  same 
time  signified  this  fact  :  1.  One  or  more  filibustering  expe- 
ditions between  1850  and  1860  were  organized  to  obtain 
more  slave  soil.  Expeditions  against  the  following  points 
were  either  attempted  or  planned  :  Cuba,  Mexico,  and  Cen- 
tral America.  These  expeditions  were  encouraged  by  the 


232         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

Ostend  "  manifesto,"  which  recommended  either  the  pur- 
chase or  the  conquest  of  Cuba.  Coming  as  it  did  from 
the  deliberations  of  the  American  ministers  to  Spain, 
France,  and  England,  it  had  great  weight  with  the  South. 
2.  Another  symptom  was  the  growing  conviction  that  the 
conflict  between  the  North  and  the  South  was  an  irrepres- 
sible one.  This  idea  was  formulated  by  Lincoln  in  his 
famous  Springfield  speech,  June,  1858,  and  by  Seward  in 
his  celebrated  Rochester  speech  in  October  of  the  same 
year.1  The  universal  attention  given  these  speeches 
proves  that  they  accurately  diagnosed  the  situation.  3. 
The  most  startling  of  the  current  symptoms  was  the  John 
Brown  raid.  He  startled  the  southern  people.  They  fully 
believed  that  the  majority  of  the  North  sympathized  with 
or  aided  the  expedition.  Nothing  proves  so  completely 
the  total  misunderstanding  between  the  two  sections.  4. 
Among  the  many  signs  of  the  rapid  sectionalization  of 
interests  and  sentiments  may  be  counted  the  frequent  con- 

1  Lincoln's  statement :  "  'A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand. ' 
I  believe  this  government  cannot  endure  permanently  half  slave  and 
half  free.  I  do  not  expect  the  Union  to  be  dissolved,  I  do  not  expect 
the  house  to  fall,  but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to  be  divided.  It  will 
become  all  one  thing  or  all  the  other.  Either  the  opponents  of  slavery 
will  arrest  the  further  spread  of  it  and  place  it  where  the  public  mind 
shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is  in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction, 
or  its  advocates  will  push  it  forward  till  it  shall  become  alike  lawful 
in  all  the  states,  old  as  well  as  new,  North  as  well  as  South." 

Seward's  statement :  "  They  who  think  that  it  is  accidental,  un- 
necessary, the  work  of  interested  or  fanatical  agitators,  and  therefore 
ephemeral,  mistake  the  case  altogether.  It  is  an  irrepressible  conflict 
between  opposing  and  enduring  forces,  and  it  means  that  the  United 
States  must  and  will,  sooner  or  later,  become  either  entirely  a  slave- 
holding  nation  or  entirely  a  free-labor  nation. " 


NATIONALITY    AND    SLAVERY.  233 

ventions  in  the  South  for  the  discussion  of  its  peculiar 
interests.  Such  meetings  were  held  at  Knoxville,  Mont- 
gomery, Vicksburg,  and  at  other  places.  The  reopening  of 
the  foreign  slave-trade  was  fully  discussed  in  these  meet- 
ings and  carried  in  the  affirmative.  The  more  visionary 
papers  of  the  South  saw  in  this,  not  only  the  recovery  of  the 
states  lost,  but  the  universal  sway  of  slavery  in  the  nation. 

The  Meaning  of  the  Charleston  Convention.  —  In  1860 
the  Democrats  met  in  Charleston,  S.  C.,  to  nominate  a  can- 
didate for  the  presidency.  Before  the  meeting  convened 
it  was  becoming  evident  that  the  northern  delegates  were 
determined  to  stand  by  Douglas,  while  the  southern  dele- 
gates were  just  as  determined  to  repudiate  him.  This  situ- 
ation was  largely  the  result  of  the  Lincoln-Douglas  debate. 
Not  only  the  man  but  his  principles  had  become  distasteful 
and  dangerous  to  slavery.  Slavery  had  hailed  non-inter- 
vention and  popular  sovereignty  with  every  manifestation 
of  approval.  But  the  Kansas-Nebraska  struggle  and 
Douglas'  answers  to  Lincoln's  questions  had  taught  that 
these  principles  in  practice  gave  slavery  no  hope,  and  were 
as  dangerous  as  congressional  intervention  or  prohibition. 
Douglas  and  his  platform  were  of  no  more  service  to  slavery 
than  were  Lincoln  and  his  Free  Soil  platform.  This  was 
true.  But  the  real  reason  is  found,  not  in  Douglas,  but  in 
the  defects  of  slavery  itself. 

The  southern  delegates  demanded  that  the  convention 
declare,  among  other  things,  that  neither  congress  nor  the 
territorial  legislature  has  the  right  to  abolish  slavery  in  the 
territories  or  to  impair  the  right  of  property  in  slaves,  and 


234         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  federal  government  to  protect 
the  rights  of  person  and  property  wherever  its  jurisdiction 
extends.  This  was  a  blow  aimed  at  Douglas  and  his 
northern  supporters.  The  latter  knew  their  constituents 
would  resent  it  and  disrupt  the  party.  Holding  a  majority, 
the  Douglas  delegates  rejected  the  demands  of  the  South  ; 
the  latter  withdrew  and  organized  a  rival  convention, 
which  subsequently  nominated  Breckenridge  for  president, 
thus  practically  sectionalizing  the  great  Democratic  party. 

Douglas'  supporters,  deeply  resenting  this  disunion, 
called  a  new  convention  and  nominated  their  favorite. 
The  Republicans  named  Lincoln;  the  Constitutional  Union 
party,  Bell.  The  result  of  the  canvass  was  the  defeat  of 
Douglas  and  the  election  of  Lincoln.  The  popular  vote 
shows  how  completely  the  Union  was  divided.  Out  of 
nearly  two  million  votes,  the  Republicans  received  a  few 
more  than  twenty-five  thousand  from  the  border  slave 
states.  Douglas,  likewise,  out  of  nearly  a  million  three 
hundred  thousand,  received  about  one  hundred  sixty  thou- 
sand votes  from  the  slave  states.  The  North  cast  less 
than  one  hundred  thousand  for  Breckenridge  and  about 
eighty  thousand  for  Bell,  most  of  whose  vote  was  southern. 
There  were  thus  practically  two  northern  and  two  southern 
parties. 

One  consequence  of  the  conduct  of  the  Charleston  con- 
vention and  of  the  result  of  the  campaign  remains  to  be 
considered.  The  slaughter  of  Douglas  in  the  house  of  his 
friends,  and  at  the  hands  of  those  he  had  so  long  and  so 
faithfully  served,  was  looked  upon  by  his  supporters  as  a 


NATIONALITY   AND   SLAVERY.  235 

piece  of  deepest  perfidy.  With  a  courage  born  of  despair, 
Douglas  fought  out  the  campaign  till  the  "  October  states  " 
showed  the  certainty  of  Lincoln's  election.  He  cancelled 
his  dates  in  the  North  and  turned  southward.  On  the 
stump,  in  private  correspondence,  and  at  every  opportunity 
he  declared  for  the  Union  and  against  secession.  On  his 
return  to  congress,  while  southern  states  were  seceding, 
southern  congressmen  hurling  defiance  at  the  Union  in 
parting  speeches,  and  threats  of  Lincoln's  assassination 
were  heard  in  Washington,  Douglas  stood  boldly  for  the 
Union,  and  answered  seceding  congressmen  in  language 
they  could  not  misunderstand.  At  Lincoln's  inauguration 
he  stood  near  and  commended  the  fearless  though  gentle 
words  of  his  late  opponent.  At  the  inauguration  ball  he 
escorted  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  the  presence  of  the  capital's  elite, 
which  was  then  largely  southern  in  its  sympathies.  When 
Lincoln's  call  to  arms  went  forth,  there  accompanied  it  the 
announcement  of  Douglas'  enthusiastic  support.  This  was 
a  summons  to  patriotic  duty  of  the  million  northern  voters 
who  had  just  followed  him  to  political  defeat.  Their  time 
had  come.  On  April  25,  1861,  occurred  a  remarkable 
scene  in  the  capital  of  Illinois.  The  members  of  a  Repub- 
lican legislature,  once  his  unrelenting  enemies,  were  now, 
in  the  home  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  giving  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  a  most  enthusiastic  ovation,  and  were  hanging  on 
his  words  as  if  he  were  a  political  prophet  after  their  own 
heart.  In  a  little  more  than  a  week  the  country  was 
startled  by  the  news  of  his  death.  But  along  with  this 
went  the  description  of  the  deathbed  scene,  in  which  the 


236         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

dying  patriot  appealed  to  his  sons  to  be  true  to  the  Con- 
stitution and  the  Union.  This  was  regarded  as  another 
summons  to  his  patriotic  followers  to  respond  to  their 
country's  call.  How  nobly  the  War-Democrats  kept  this 
last  appeal  history  gladly  tells.  These  last  events  of 
his  life  were  the  noblest  of  his  career  and  were  inspired 
by  his  love  of  the  Union,  and  the  memory  of  his  treat 
ment  at  the  hands  of  slavery  did  not  cause  him  to  with- 
hold his  influence  or  check  his  enthusiasm  for  the  nation's 
defence.  Thus  again  did  slavery  raise  up  the  agents  of 
its  own  destruction. 

The  Significance  of  Secession. —  The  secession  conven- 
tions of  the  southern  states  were  the  sign,  looking  back- 
ward, that  sectionalization  was  practically  complete ;  that 
the  interests  and  feelings  of  the  North  endangered  the 
existence  of  slavery.  Looking  forward,  they  signified  the 
determination  of  slavery  to  save  itself  outside  of  the 
Union.  Secession  was  not  primarily  for  the  purpose  of 
vindicating  the  principle  of  state  sovereignty.  It  is  true 
that  the  act  of  secession  sought  its  defence  in  this  doc- 
trine ;  the  southern  leaders  often  put  it  forward  with  much 
earnestness,  and  no  doubt  many  honest  people  thought 
the  primary  purpose  of  the  movement  was  the  defence  of 
the  old  Jeffersonian  doctrine.  This  ostensible  motive  was 
kept  to  the  front  by  the  method  of  secession.  Frequently 
the  governor  summoned,  by  an  alarming  proclamation,  the 
legislature  in  extra  session.  Usually  this  body,  after 
providing  means  for  the  defence  of  the  state,  called  a  con- 
vention of  the  people  which  should  pass  upon  the  subject 


NATIONALITY   AND   SLAVERY.  237 

of  secession.  Thus  secession  was  generally  decreed  by  a 
body  of  people  supposed  to  possess  the  attribute  of 
sovereignty.  The  reason  for  the  prominence  given  to 
state  sovereignty  is  partly  explained  by  the  fact  that  in 
some  states  many  non-slaveholders  were  unwilling  to  pro- 
mote the  interests  of  slavery  and  yet  were  devoted  to  state 
sovereignty.  Looking  forward  to  the  meaning  of  secession 
as  seen  in  its  consequences,  we  readily  see  that  it  involves 
war.  While  the  South  was  contemplating  separation,  its 
leaders  were  preparing  for  war,  and  yet  they  tried  to  con- 
vince themselves  and  their  people  that  war  would  not 
follow.  It  was  inevitable.  The  national  life  developed 
between  1789  and  1860  had  become  so  complex  and  its 
organs  so  interdependent  that  it  touched  almost  every 
human  interest.  Although  sectionalization  was  so  com- 
plete, yet  when  this  sought  to  express  itself  in  actual 
overt  acts,  it  was  found  impossible  to  do  so  without  a 
collision  of  interests. 

How  hard  the  North  tried  to  save  the  Union  without  a 
collision  of  arms  may  be  partly  seen  in  the  new  compro- 
mises offered  to  slavery.  The  work  of  both  houses  of  con- 
gress during  the  winter  of  1860  and  1861  was  mainly  con- 
sumed in  seeing  how  far  the  North  would  make  concession. 
The  proof  that  the  Eepublicans  were  willing  to  make  con- 
cessions in  conflict  with  their  platform  is  found  in  the 
provisions  of  the  Crittenden  Compromise,  in  the  resolutions 
of  the  Committee  of  Thirty-three,  in  the  work  of  the  Peace 
convention,  and  in  the  opening,  by  legislation,  of  the  terri- 
tories without  restrictions  upon  slavery.  It  was  all  in  vain. 


238          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

THE   DESTRUCTION    OF    SLAVERY  AND    THE  TRIUMPH  OF 
THE   NATION. 

Significance    of    Slavery's    Appeal    to   Arms.  —  How 

different  was  the  progress  of  the  struggle  between  nation- 
ality and  democracy  from  the  progress  of  the  conflict 
between  nationality  and  slavery!  In  the  former  case,  the 
hostile  forces  conquered  each  other  and  entered  into 
friendly  and  helpful  cooperation,  while  in  the  latter  they 
have  grown  into  irreconcilable  and  deadly  enemies. 

We  now  enter  upon  the  final  phase  of  that  conflict. 
Our  purpose,  as  before,  is  to  indicate  its  general  and 
organizing  features,  and  not  to  write  its  detailed  history. 

Was  the  South  conscious  of  resting  her  hope  of  success 
on  the  ability  of  slavery  to  cope  successfully  with  free- 
dom ?  In  several  respects,  if  she  had  not  been  blinded  by 
pride  and  passion,  the  inequality  of  such  a  struggle  was 
not  difficult  to  see.  In  the  first  place,  war  is,  to  some 
extent,  a  question  of  numbers.  Where  people  are  of  the 
same  race  and  nation,  numbers  are  a  decisive  factor. 
Slavery  kept  population  sparse  by  establishing  economical, 
social,  and  educational  conditions  unfavorable  to  dense 
white  population.  We  saw  the  stream  of  European  emi- 
gration deflected  from  the  South  and  turned  into  the 
North.  Besides,  there  was  a  constant  movement  of  non- 
slaveholders  to  the  free  states.  In  1850  three  times  as 
many  native  southerners  were  living  in  the  North  as 
native  northerners  living  in  the  South.  Again,  it  was  im- 
possible to  carry  all  the  slave  states  into  secession.  The 


NATIONALITY   AND    SLAVERY.  239 

moral  support  of  Delaware,  Maryland,  West  Virginia, 
Kentucky,  and  Missouri  was  thrown  against  slavery.  Be- 
sides, there  were  thousands  of  hardy  men  in  the  mountains 
of  the  seceding  states  whose  sympathy  and  interest  were 
with  the  Union.  To  them  slavery  had  been  an  unmiti- 
gated curse.  While  thousands  of  the  non-slaveholders 
went  into  the  Confederate  army,  yet  they  readily  joined  in 
the  cry  against  the  slaveholders'  war  as  being  a  "rich 
man's  war  and  a  poor  man's  fight."  In  all  these  respects 
slavery  had  handicapped  itself. 

In  respect  to  other  resources,  the  institution  had  stood 
in  its  own  way.  Slavery  could  not  equip  an  army.  It 
had  very  few  manufactories  for  either  clothes  or  guns,  or 
any  of  the  enginery  of  war.  In  a  financial  way,  it  was 
far  behind  the  North.  Slavery  was  agricultural,  and  had 
rather  scorned  those  great  commercial  pursuits  that  fur- 
nish ready  means  of  expenditure.  The  banking  capital  of 
the  North  in  1860  was  several  times  that  of  the  seceding 
states.  Slavery  placed  its  main  reliance  for  credit  upon 
cotton.  This  did  promise  much,  but  freedom  had  wrought 
out  many  products  to  overbalance  this  raw  product,  whose 
value  was  lessened  by  the  fact  that  it  had  to  leave  the 
South  before  the  South  could  profit  by  it.  An  efficient 
blockade  greatly  reduced  its  value. 

The  South  had  one  real  advantage  over  the  North.  The 
slave  remained  at  home  and  cared  for  the  soldier's  family 
and  produced  the  food  supply  of  the  army.  This  enabled 
the  Confederacy  to  utilize  its  white  population  to  an  extent 
impossible  at  the  North.  This  fact  may  have  furnished, 


240         ORGANIZATION   OF   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

later  in  the  war,  an  argument  for  emancipation.  At  what- 
ever point  you  may  touch  the  conditions  of  successful  war, 
it  will  be  found  that  slavery  had  been  preparing  for  its 
defeat,  from  Jamestown  to  Appomattox. 

The  Revival  of  Nationality  in  the  North.  —  The  sig- 
nal for  this  was  the  attack  upon  Fort  Sumter.  A  wave  of 
loyalty. swept  over  the  North  that  broke  down  almost  all 
differences,  and  there  was  but  one  resolution:  a  determina- 
tion to  save  the  Union.  The  causes  of  this  reaction  were 
several :  1.  The  North  had  gone  down  on  its  knees  to 
slavery  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1861,  and  offered  terms 
that  were  humiliating.  These  were,  however,  rejected.  2. 
The  new  administration  was  far  from  entering  on  any 
aggressive  measures,  although  military  preparation  was 
well  under  way  in  the  South  on  March  4,  1861.  3.  Seizure 
of  national  property  by  seceding  states,  and  the  attack 
upon  Fort  Sumter,  thus  making  the  South  the  aggressor. 
4.  The  general  conviction  that  many  southern  leaders  were 
plotting  against  the  nation  while  holding  high  office  in  its 
service. 

The  new  enthusiasm  for  the  nation  was  destined  to  rise 
and  fall.  The  administration  aimed  to  husband  this 
revival.  The  greatest  obstacle  was  slavery.  The  major- 
ity of  northern  people  were  not  abolitionists,  and  had  no 
desire  to  interfere  with  the  institution  in  the  states.  For 
this  reason  the  war  had  for  its  supreme  aim  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  Union.  This  is  the  one  principle  by  which 
Lincoln's  conduct  of  the  great  struggle  may  be  interpreted 
at  every  point.  To  this  end  armies  were  organized  and 


NATIONALITY   AND   SLAVERY.  241 

campaigns  planned.  It  was  the  supreme  consideration  in 
his  appointments,  political  and  military.  This  was  the 
meaning  of  his  border-state  policy,  and  even  when  eman- 
cipation came,  this  was  the  test  he  applied  to  it.  His 
wisdom  in  this  showed  how  thoroughly  the  president 
understood  his  constituency. 

How  the  Slavery  Question  Forced  its  Way  to  the  Front. 
-  Whatever  might  be  the  opinion  or  prejudice  of  the  North 
regarding  slavery,  one  thing  was  certain :  slavery  was 
bound  to  compel  consideration.  The  president  might 
ignore  it  in  his  planning,  and  congress  might  resolve 
not  to  interfere  with  it ;  yet  it  was  the  great  cause  of  the  war, 
and  no  great  war  continues  long  without  some  discussion 
of  its  cause,  especially  if  the  cause  continues  to  be  a 
determining  factor. 

As  soon  as  the  Union  armies  moved  into  slave  territory, 
the  negroes  were  inclined  to  seek  freedom  within  their 
lines.  What  shall  be  done  with  them  ?  Shall  they  be 
freed,  returned  to  slavery,  confiscated  as  property,  or  let 
alone?  General  Butler  declared  them  "contraband  of 
war,"  other  generals  returned  them  to  their  masters,  some, 
like  Fremont,  liberated  them,  while  a  few  put  them  to 
service  in  the  army.  The  president  tried  to  modify  the 
conduct  of  these  generals  so  as  to  preserve  harmony  in 
the  war  party. 

Congress  early  passed  a  resolution  that  the  only  purpose 
of  the  government  in  the  war  was  to  suppress  rebellion 
and  preserve  the  Union.  But  events  were  moving  rapidly. 
The  South  used  the  slave  in  the  army.  He  did  the  menial 


242          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

service  of  the  camp,  worked  on  fortifications,  and  in  other 
respects  enabled  the  southern  soldier  always  to  be  at  the 
front,  thus  giving  strength  to  the  Confederate  army.  It 
was  impossible  for  congress  and  the  administration  to 
ignore  this.  In  August,  1861,  such  negroes  were  declared 
free.  There  was  some  opposition  from  Democrats  and 
border-state  men.  They  feared  the  example  and  wanted 
slavery  left  entirely  alone.  This  bill  simply  applied 
Butler's  idea  of  regarding  slaves  used  in  war  as  contra- 
band. 

As  the  burden  of  war  constantly  grew  heavier,  congress 
and  the  majority  at  the  North  were  less  kindly  disposed 
toward  slavery.  In  April,  1862,  congress  emancipated  the 
slaves  in  the  District  of  Columbia  and  compensated  their 
masters.  The  border-state  men  again  opposed,  but  were 
defeated.  The  anti-slavery  spirit  gradually  rose  till  in 
August,  1862,  congress  confiscated  the  property  of  Con- 
federates. This  was  practically  emancipation  for  the  slaves 
of  men  in  war.  While  it  was  thus  limited,  yet  the  oppo- 
sition was  vehement  both  in  and  out  of  congress,  but  could 
not  defeat  the  measure.  The  need  of  some  such  law  to 
weaken  the  power  of  the  South  was  demonstrated  by  a  double 
sortie  from  the  South ;  Lee  entered  Maryland  and  Bragg, 
Kentucky,  in  the  late  summer  and  fall  of  1 862. 

While  congress  was  thus  striking  somewhat  boldly  at 
the  real  cause  and  continuance  of  the  struggle,  President 
Lincoln  was  making  more  cautious  movements  in  the  same 
direction.  Early  in  1862  he  suggested  that  the  govern- 
ment ought  to  cooperate,  by  compensation,  with  any  state 


NATIONALITY   AND   SLAVERY.  243 

which  might  adopt  gradual  emancipation.  He  saw  great 
gain  to  the  Union  in  this,  for  if  once  adopted  by  any  state 
the  hope  of  that  state's  joining  the  Confederacy  was  gone 
forever,  and  in  so  far  the  South  would  be  discouraged. 
The  matter  of  gradual  and  compensated  emancipation  was 
put  before  the  border-state  congressmen,  but  they  gave  it 
no  support,  and  he  was  left,  in  the  progress  of  war,  to  face 
the  problem  of  general  and  uncompen sated  emancipation. 
The  disasters  of  war  were  rapidly  educating  the  North 
up  to  the  point  of  destroying  slavery  altogether  as  the 
best  means  of  ending  the  war.  Lincoln's  great  wisdom 
was  in  discovering,  just  that  point  in  the  march  of  public 
sentiment  when  emancipation  would  find  a  good  measure 
of  justification.  Nothing  could  move  the  president  from 
this  determination  to  wait  until  the  country  was  ready  for 
the  great  decree.  It  is  an  interesting  commentary  on  the 
progress  of  history  that  the  people  had  to  be  driven  by 
the  sore  distresses  of  war  before  the  slave  could  be  freed 
and  the  Confederacy  be  punished.  Mourning  had  to  come 
into  thousands  of  northern  homes  before  the  people  were 
willing  to  save  the  Union  by  removing  the  only  cause  of 
its  disruption.  Millions  of  money  and  thousands  of  men 
had  been  sacrificed,  and  hardly  a  beginning  had  been 
made  toward  suppressing  resistance.  McClellan's  great 
campaign  against  Richmond  had  failed;  Lee  had  out- 
maneuvered  him  and  invaded  the  frightened  North.  The 
second  battle  of  Bull  Run  was  fought  and  lost,  Harper's 
Ferry  had  surrendered,  and  the  great  battle  of  Antietam  had 
taken  place.  In  the  West  matters  had  gone  more  favor- 


244          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

ably  for  the  Union.  Grant  was  entering  on  his  successful 
career  and  had  captured  Henry  and  Donelson,  fought  the 
bloody  battle  of  Shiloh,  captured  Corinth,  and  was  coop- 
erating with  the  victor  of  New  Orleans  for  the  complete 
opening  of  the  Mississippi.  But  during  the  summer  and 
early  September,  General  Bragg,  at  the  head  of  an  enthu- 
siastic army,  marched  out  of  Tennessee  into  Kentucky 
and  made  for  Louisville.  Buell  won  the  race  by  a  few 
hours  only.  The  exitement  in  the  North  was  intense,  and 
the  masses  began  to  appreciate  more  keenly  the  stupen- 
dous problem  of  saving  the  Union. 

During  these  first  two  years  of  war,  the  attitude  of 
England  and  France  had  been  anything  but  friendly. 
They  began  by  prematurely  acknowledging  the  insurgents 
as  belligerents.  This  gave  the  South  a  great  moral  advan- 
tage, but  impressed  the  North  as  an  action  only  too  gladly 
taken.  This  impression  was  greatly  strengthened  by  the 
warlike  attitude  of  Great  Britain  over  the  Trent  affair. 
The  South  very  early  found  encouragement  in  London  in 
a  financial  way,  and  felt  that  England  and  France  could 
hardly  afford  to  have  their  supply  of  American  cotton  cut 
off  by  war.  This  seemed  to  justify  the  South  in  expecting 
some  kind  of  intervention  from  them.  There  had  been 
much  talk  of  friendly  intervention  since  the  opening  of 
the  war,  and  after  McClellan's  failure  in  the  Peninsular 
campaign,  this  project  revived;  France,  England,  and  Russia 
held  an  unsuccessful  correspondence  on  the  subject.  The 
danger  of  foreign  intervention  was  a  constant  menace  to 
Union  success. 


NATIONALITY    AND    SLAVERY.  245 

Perhaps  the  greatest  cause  of  northern  irritation  toward 
England,  and  one  which  most  harmed  and  helped  the  parties 
to  the  war,  was  the  construction  of  Confederate  privateers 
in  the  shipyards  of  Great  Britain.  Early  in  1862,  our 
minister  to  England  protested  against  the  construction  of 
the  vessel  afterward  known  as  the  Florida;  and  later, 
against  the  building  of  the  famous  Alabama.  The  con- 
duct of  the  British  government  was  entirely  unsatisfac- 
tory, and  did  much  to  increase  the  danger  of  foreign 
war. 

Besides  all  these  dangers  and  burdens,  the  loyal  people 
were  bearing,  at  the  time  of  the  proclamation,  an  immense 
financial  burden  that  promised  to  grow  constantly  heavier. 
When  the  great  proclamation  was  issued,  the  internal 
revenue  tax  was  a  million  a  day.  When  we  add  to  this 
the  vast  sum  raised  by  tariff  duties,  the  expenditures  of 
states,  the  contributions  of  charitable  organizations  and 
of  private  persons,  some  idea  can  be  formed  of  the  enor- 
mous drain  upon  material  resources  of  the  country.  All 
these  burdens,  and  even  more,  were  necessary  to  bring  the 
American  people  to  consent  to  the  destruction  of  slavery. 

The  Significance  of  the  Proclamation  of  Emancipa- 
tion. —  This  is  partly  revealed  in  the  preceding  discus- 
sions. Its  significance,  as  discovered  in  succeeding  events, 
is  now  to  be  noted.  First,  the  act  completed  the  growing 
separation  between  the  administration  and  certain  ele- 
ments in  the  North  who  came  to  be  known  as  peace  men, 
as  they  were  inclined  to  sympathize  with  the  Confederacy. 
From  now  on,  they  began  to  organize  to  secure  peace  with- 


246          ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

out  regard  to  the  means.  Later,  they  developed  a  secret 
organization  known  in  many  states  as  the  Sons  of  Liberty, 
or  Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle.  Many  conservative 
people,  while  not  sympathizing  with  these  malcontents, 
yet  drew  away  from  the  administration  and  supported  the 
Democratic  party  in  the  fall  elections  of  1862.  While  the 
result,  so  nearly  disastrous  to  the  administration,1  was  not 
entirely  due  to  the  proclamation,  yet  it  furnished  the 
"  stock  "  arguments  of  the  campaign.  An  abolition  war, 
negro  equality,  negro  emigration  to  the  North  with  its 
disastrous  effects  on  the  white  laborer,  a  government  for 
white  men,  were  some  of  the  catch  phrases  that  made 
opposition  votes  rapidly  in  the  border  free  states.  There 
was  just  enough  in  the  war  policy  to  give  the  color  of 
truth  to  such  statements. 

A  second  significance  is  found  in  the  fact  that,  while 
the  proclamation  divided  the  North,  it  unified  the  South. 
All  classes  of  southern  whites  despised  the  free  negro. 
The  poor  whites  felt  now  that  the  negro  would  likely  rise 
in  the  scale  of  importance  if  the  North  should  win.  If  a 
great  English  statesman  could  look  upon  it  as  an  act  of 
vengeance,  we  can  hardly  expect  the  slaveholders  to  char- 
acterize the  act  with  gentler  terms.  One  great  cause  of 
exasperation  was  the  plan  to  employ  the  slaves  as  soldiers. 
This  ultimately  turned  out  successful,  as  many  thousand 
colored  troops  enlisted.  This  furnished  the  Confederate 

1  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois  went  Demo- 
cratic, leaving  only  a  majority  of  about  twenty  in  the  House.  New 
England  and  the  border  slave  state  saved  the  Union. 


NATIONALITY    AND    SLAVERY.  247 

authorities  with  another  powerful  argument  in  appealing 
to  their  people  for  a  vigorous  support  of  the  war. 

The  proclamation,  in  a  third  instance,  almost  completely 
removed  the  danger  of  foreign  intervention,  especially  by 
England.  The  government  of  England  did  not  dare  face 
its  own  people,  to  say  nothing  of  the  rest  of  the  world, 
with  a  proposition  to  favor  a  confederacy  of  slaveholders 
against  a  nation  devoted  to  the  destruction  of  slavery. 

In  addition,  the  emancipation  of  the  negro  introduced 
new  problems,  political  and  social.  When  the  war  is  over, 
what  then  ?  The  burden  of  war  was  so  great  that  men 
hardly  halted  to  consider  the  grave  questions  which  were 
thus  forced  upon  the  nation.  What  shall  be  the  status 
of  the  freedmen  ?  From  many  points  of  view  it  was  a 
fearful  question,  considering  their  condition. 

Finally,  the  emancipation  of  the  slave  was  the  beginning 
of  the  end  of  the  struggle  between  slavery  and  nationality. 
This  removes  the  last  important  obstacle  to  our  becoming 
a  great  nation  such  as  the  fathers  of  the  republic  little 
imagined.  When  the  Union  is  restored,  only  the  effects 
of  slavery  will  stand  in  the  way  of  a  new  national  spirit. 

Leading  Military  Events  Making  Good  the  Proclama- 
tion of  Emancipation  and  the  Restoration  of  the  Nation. 
-The  one  common  content  of  the  events  of  the  war  is 
their  bearing  on  the  restoration  of  the  Union.  Up  to  the 
proclamation,  all  events  tended  more  or  less  unconsciously 
to  force  slavery  into  the  contest,  while  many  persons  strove 
consciously  to  eliminate  it.  After  the  proclamation  all 
events  carry,  as  a  part  of  their  content,  the  fortunes  of 


248         ORGANIZATION    OF    AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

both  slavery  and  the  Union.  The  following  events  may 
be  regarded  as  directly  affecting  this  double  result,  without 
an  understanding  of  which  the  result  is  not  intelligible. 

1.  The  campaign  for  the  capture  of  Vicksburg  and  the 
opening  of  the  Mississippi.      This  occupied  a  portion  of 
1862  and  the  first  half  of  1863.      The  result  was  to  finally 
sever  Arkansas  and  Texas  from  direct  relations  with  the 
rest  of  the  Confederacy,  in  addition  to  the  loss  of  a  large 
army  and   vast   military  stores.      The  Mississippi  states 
now  had  direct  communication  with  the  Atlantic  seaboard. 

2.  While   Grant   was   capturing  Vicksburg,  Buell   and 
Kosecrans  were  driving  Bragg  out  of  Kentucky  back  into 
the  mountains  of  Tennessee.      The  leading  battles  were 
Perryville  and  Stone  River.      Thus  driven  out  of  these 
two  great  states  after  so  bold  a  sortie  to  the  North,  the 
moral  effect  was  depressing  to  the  South. 

3.  Just  as  Grant  was  receiving  the  surrender  of  Vicks- 
burg, and  Rosecrans  was  pushing  Bragg  out  of  Tennessee, 
General  Meade  had  checked  the  tide  of  Confederate  inva- 
sion at  Gettysburg.     This  was  the  first  great  victory  in 
the  East  since  Antietam,  while  the    Confederates    could 
point  to  Fredericksburg  and  Chancellorsville.     The  victory 
at  Gettysburg,  while    incomplete   and  short  of  what  the 
North  had  a  right  to  expect,  had  more  than  the  saving  of 
Washington  as  its  result.     It  demonstrated  to  the  South 
that  the  insurgents  would  receive  no  more  substantial  aid 
from    the   border   states'.      Not   even  the  provocation   of 
conscription  could  compel  its  opponents  to  join  the  Con- 
federates.     Of  course,  Lee's  army  was  greatly  dispirited. 


NATIONALITY   AND    SLAVERY.  249 

and  desertions  rapidly  increased.  For  the  time  being, 
these  important  successes  discouraged  the  efforts  of  the 
peace  men,  both  North  and  South,  who  tried  to  secure  a 
cessation  of  hostilities  on  terms  less  than  the  restoration 
of  the  Union. 

4.  The  tide  of  Union  victory  was  somewhat  checked  in 
September,  1863,  when  Bragg  so  nearly  annihilated  Rose- 
crans  at  Chickamauga,  and  cooped  up  the  remnant  of  his 
army  in  Chattanooga.      The  siege  was  raised  by  aid  from 
the  victors  at  Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg.     The  Confederate 
army  was  defeated  in  those  brilliant  and  almost  unmatched 
charges  up  Lookout  Mountain  and  on  Missionary  Ridge. 

5.  When   General   Grant  went  East,  he  put  General 
Sherman  in   command   of   the   great   army  in  the  West. 
By  July,  1864,  Johnston,  after  a  series  of  most  brilliant 
retreats,  was  driven  into  Atlanta.     Hood  succeeded  him, 
and  had  his  army  defeated.     Hood  now  turned  North,  and 
was  so  disastrously  defeated  in  December  by  Thomas  at 
Franklin  that  his  army  never  rallied  from  the  blow.      In 
the  meantime,  Sherman  was  making  his  famous  march  to 
the  sea.      Little  opposed,  Savannah,  Charleston,  and  other 
places  fell.     On  his  return,  Johnston,  who  had  been  re- 
stored to  command,  was  driven  back  into  North  Carolina. 
This  march  kept  reinforcements  from  Lee  at  Richmond, 
and  served  to  demonstrate  the  inevitable  collapse  of  the 
Confederacy. 

6.  Early  in  1864,  General  Grant  was  placed  in  com- 
mand of  all  the  armies  of  the  Union.     With  Meade  and  the 
army  of  the  Potomac,  he  began  a  campaign  which  ended 


250         ORGANIZATION   OF    AMEEICAN   HISTORY. 

only  at  Appomattox,  April,  1865.  In  this  series  of  battles. 
Lee's  army  simply  battered  itself  to  pieces.  The  resources 
of  the  Confederate  states  were  exhausted.  At  no  point  in 
the  war  was  the  nakedness  of  slavery  so  apparent  as  in 
these  last  days.  The  vast  strength  of  the  Union  forces, 
their  splendid  equipment  in  arms,  food,  and  clothing,  were 
arguments  in  favor  of  freedom  and  against  slavery  more 
powerful  than  were  ever  set  forth  by  the  logic  of  states- 
men. With  an  energy  hardly  paralleled  in  history,  the 
South  had  concentrated  her  forces,  political  and  military, 
and  kept  up  the  movement  till  her  very  life  was  burned 
out.  Her  institutions  literally  collapsed,  and  there  was 
left  only  the  disorganized  heap  of  ruins. 

Other  Events  from  the  Proclamation  to  the  Close  of  the 
War.  —  War  can  never  be  an  end  in  itself.  Hence  it 
must  have  a  non-military  motive  ;  it  must  aim  at  political 
or  other  ends.  In  a  great  struggle  like  the  Civil  War,  the 
relation  between  military  and  political  events  is  always 
interactive.  The  following  are  some  of  the  events  which 
influenced  the  war  itself,  and  were  in  turn  modified 
by  it. 

1.  It  has  already  been  shown  how  the  financial  burdens 
of  the  war  argued  for  the  abolition  of  slavery.  The  finan- 
cial measures  taken  after  this  great  event  aided  in  promot- 
ing military  success,  and  thus  in  saving  the  Union.  The 
establishment  of  the  national  banking  system  was  the 
most  important  of  the  later  financial  measures.  It  was 
strongly  opposed,  but  passed  early  in  the  spring  of  1863, 
and  gave  the  United  States  a  helpful  piece  of  financial 


NATIONALITY   AND   SLAVERY.  251 

machinery ;  and  more  than  all,  it  gave  greater  confidence 
in  the  financial  strength  of  the  country. 

2.  The  critical  political  event  of  this  part  of  the  strug- 
gle was  the  presidential  election  of  1864.  The  Confeder- 
acy had  much  faith  in  the  defeat  of  Lincoln.  This  hope 
rested  on  several  things.  One  was  the  probable  split  in 
the  Republican  party.  There  was  much  dissatisfaction 
with  the  administration's  conduct  of  the  war.  The  aboli- 
tionists had  not  forgiven  Lincoln  for  delaying  emancipation 
till  the  country  was  ready  for  the  measure.  The  radical 
leaders  were  impatient  with  his  conservatism  on  all  ques- 
tions, and  especially  now  over  questions  preliminary  to 
reconstruction.  Some  of  the  more  hot-headed  issued  a 
manifesto  setting  forth  their  opposition.  Many  disap- 
pointed office-seekers  joined  the  opposition  which  tended 
to  concentrate  upon  Secretary  Chase  as  the  rival  candidate 
for  the  presidency.  Ohio  early  declared  for  Lincoln,  and 
Chase  withdrew  from  the  field.  The  malcontents  met  in 
convention  at  Cleveland,  May,  1864,  and  nominated  General 
Fremont.  The  attitude  of  the  Democrats  and  the  hope- 
lessness of  success  led  him  to  withdraw.  In  proportion 
as  the  politicians  opposed  Lincoln,  it  seemed  that  the 
people  rallied  to  his  support.  From  all  parts  of  the  Union 
and  from  all  kinds  of  bodies  came  an  emphatic  demand  for 
his  renomination,  which  took  place  at  Baltimore  and  on  a 
platform  that  strongly  endorsed  his  administration,  declared 
against  making  compromises  with  the  Confederacy,  and  in 
favor  of  an  amendment  abolishing  slavery.  The  Peace 
Democrats  captured  their  party  in  the  Chicago  convention 


252          ORGANIZATION   OP   AMERICAN   HISTORY. 

and  declared  the  war  a  failure,  called  for  a  convention  of 
states  to  settle  the  difficulties  between  the  Confederacy 
and  the  Union,  and  denounced  the  president  for  trampling 
on  the  Constitution  and  the  rights  of  the  people.  This 
was  another  way  of  saying  that  the  Union  ought  to  be 
saved  with  slavery.  General  McClellan  was  nominated, 
but  in  his  letter  of  acceptance  he  took  issue  with  some 
parts  of  the  platform.  The  rapid  and  successful  progress 
of  war  made  a  peace  platform  and  a  war  candidate  seem 
ridiculously  absurd.  The  election  gave  Lincoln  an  over- 
whelming popular  and  electoral  vote  ;  all  the  states  voting, 
except  three,  went  for  Lincoln,  —  a  sufficiently  emphatic 
endorsement  of  his  war  on  slavery. 

Digging  Slavery  up  by  the  Roots.  —  The  proposition 
of  the  Confederacy  in  the  last  months  of  the  war  to 
employ  negroes  as  soldiers,  not  only  revealed  the  utter 
exhaustion  of  the  South,  but  demonstrated  their  loss  of 
faith  in  the  possibility  of  saving  the  institution.  It  is 
interesting  and  significant  that  Lee  offered  to  make  no 
stipulations  with  Grant  about  slavery  when  arranging 
terms  at  Appomattox.  Although  slavery  was  passing 
away  by  the  logic  of  events,  yet  its  very  roots  must  be 
pulled  up.  This  was  accomplished  by  amending  the  Con- 
stitution. 

President  Lincoln  had,  by  an  exercise  of  "the  war 
power,"  struck  a  deadly  blow  at  slavery  ;  but  it  was  felt 
that  the  result,  to  be  a  finality,  must  be  stamped  upon  the 
Constitution  itself.  In  February,  1865,  congress  sent  the 
thirteenth  amendment  to  the  people.  It  was  ratified  and 


NATIONALITY   AND   SLAVERY.  253 

officially  proclaimed  by  December  18.  This  amendment 
put  the  principle  of  the  anti-slavery  clause  of  the  Ordi- 
nance of  1787  and  the  Wilmot  Proviso  into  the  Constitu- 
tion. While  most  of  the  states  of  the  Confederacy  accepted 
this  amendment,  they  proceeded  to  legislate  in  a  way 
which  showed  a  determination  to  hold  the  negroes  in  a 
sort  of  slavery.  The  worst  of  these  laws  pertained  to 
employment,  labor  contracts,  and  vagrancy. 

When  the  congress,  elected  in  1864,  met  in  1865,  the 
Republican  majority  was  furious  over  the  so-called  at- 
tempts to  nullify  the  thirteenth  amendment,  and  the 
apparent  encouragement  given  to  those  states  by  President 
Johnson.  The  injurious  effects  of  southern  legislation 
upon  the  negro  were  partly  overcome  by  the  friendly 
interposition  of  the  Freedmen's  Bureau.  In  June  of 
1866  congress  passed  the  fourteenth  amendment,  which 
embodied  the  ideas  of  the  "  civil  rights  "  bill  and  provided 
penalties  for  limiting  the  suffrage  of  any  class  of  citizens. 
This  was  not  ratified  till  July,  1868.  In  the  next  year 
the  final  amendment  growing  out  of  the  Civil  War  passed 
congress  and  went  to  the  states  for  their  approval.  This 
was  proclaimed  in  March,  1870,  and  denied  to  the  United 
States  and  to  the  states  the  power  to  refuse  suffrage  to 
any  one  "on  account  of  race,  color,  or  previous  condition 
of  servitude."  Thus  was  completed,  by  constitutional 
amendment,  the  process  by  which  the  nation  annihilated 
its  greatest  enemy,  and  the  United  States  now  began  that 
career  of  unrivaled  national  prosperity  on  which  it  might 
have  entered  in  1840  had  not  slavery  blocked  the  way. 


254         ORGANIZATION    OF   AMERICAN    HISTORY. 

While  many  of  the  results  of  the  struggle  of  nationality 
and  slavery  were  negative,  yet,  in  general,  a  new  national 
consciousness  was  born  in  this  life-and-death  struggle 
which  prepared  the  nation  to  enter  with  greater  vigor 
upon  its  new  career.  What  this  new  movement  is,  and 
what  its  dominant  and  controlling  principle  is,  does  not 
belong  to  the  present  discussion  to  determine,  but  that 
there  is  a  new  organizing  principle  controlling  its  events, 
all  the  preceding  discussions  lead  us  to  believe ;  also  that 
its  discovery  and  application  in  the  teaching  of  the  new 
period  after  1870  is  of  vital  importance,  pedagogical  as 
well  as  historical. 


THE  ELEMENTARY   PHASES  OF  HISTORY 
TEACHING. 


THE   SENSE   PHASE  OF   HISTORY. 


THE  GENERAL  PROBLEM. 

Logical  and  Psychological  Method.  —  That  which  is 
logically  first  in  a  subject  comes  last  into  the  possession 
of  the  unfolding  mind,  and  that  which  comes  psychologi- 
cally first  to  the  growing  mental  powers  stands  logically 
last  in  the  subject.  But  every  fact  that  occupies  the  line 
between  these  two  mental  points  looks  back  to  that  which 
precedes  as  means,  and  forward  to  that  which  follows  as 
end.  This  is  the  justification  for  the  arrangement  of  the 
subject-matter  in  this  book.  No  one  can  intelligently 
determine  what  the  method  of  history  work  should  be 
without  first  discovering  the  logical  relations  in  the  sub- 
ject-matter itself.  The  subject  in  its  scientific  form  stands 
as  the  goal  toward  which  every  lesson  must  point,  no  natter 
where  the  material  is  found  along  the  line  between  these 
two  points.  It  is  in  this  spirit  that  the  lower  phases  of 
history  study  are  to  be  considered.  Not  that  the  lower 


256  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY    TEACHING. 

forms  have  no  value  in  themselves,  but  rather  that  their 
relations  to  the  higher  phases  of  the  study  constitute 
their  greater  pedagogical  significance. 

However,  we  must  now  take  into  account  a  guiding  fact 
not  before  considered,  namely,  the  gradual  unfolding  of  the 
powers  of  the  immature  mind.  We  start  now  at  the  other 
end  of  the  line  of  mental  life  and  work  forward  toward  the 
ideal  of  mind  and  subject  set  forth  in  the  preceding  dis- 
cussions. The  mind's  degree  of  strength  and  the  charac- 
teristics which  mark  its  various  stages  of  growth  constitute 
a  new  and  determining  principle  in  our  problem.  The 
organized  body  of  knowledge  with  which  we  have  been 
busy  must  yield  to  this  principle.  Logical  relations  must 
give  way  to  psychological  conditions.  The  child  with  its 
intellectual  and  moral  possibilities  passing  over  into  actu- 
alities is  the  all-controlling  factor  in  primary  method. 
This  is  the  greatest  adjusting  principle  in  all  primary 
teaching. 

If  we  approach  the  question  from  the  side  of  mind,  we 
find  the  law  of  dependence  holding  between  its  forms  of 
activity.  The  senses  furnish  material  for  the  imagination, 
and  both  supply  matter  for  the  understanding,  and  the 
latter  for  the  reason.  The  phase  of  history  already  dis- 
cussed pertains  to  those  attributes,  relations,  and  laws  fur- 
nished mainly  by  the  understanding  and  reason.  From 
the  point  of  view  of  mind,  therefore,  we  have  yet  to  dis- 
cuss the  material  of  history  in  its  relation  to  these  lower 
forms  of  mental  life, — the  senses  and  the  imagination. 
This  is  really  another  double  problem.  Here  we  are 


THE   SENSE   PHASE   OF    HISTORY.  257 

again  to  show  how  the  material  of  history  is  transformed 
by,  and  also  transforms,  the  lower  mental  activities. 

Nature  and  Purpose  of  Sense  History —  Does  history 
have  a  Sense  phase  ?  Let  us  see.  History  deals  with  the 
thought  and  feeling  of  a  people.  A  people's  thought  and 
feeling  are  expressed  in  outward  acts.  These  acts  are 
sensuous  and  physical ;  they  can  be  seen,  heard,  and  felt. 
But  it  may  be  said  that  while  the  events  of  history  were 
objects  of  observation  to  persons  who  lived  when  and 
where  they  occurred,  they  can  never  be  present  to  the 
senses  again.  It  is  true  that,  for  the  most  part,  the  field 
of  historical  happenings  is  beyond  the  reach  of  the  senses. 
It  is  just  as  true,  also,  that  the  child,  up  to  the  time  he 
reaches  school,  has  been  observing  and  participating  in  the 
acts  of  men,  —  has  been  experiencing  history.  While 
the  acts  observed  in  this  period  of  the  child's  life  are  not 
the  individual  acts  he  will  study  in  after  days,  yet  so  great 
is  the  transforming  power  of  the  imagination  that  it  can 
take  the  deeds  of  man  presented  to  the  senses  and  build 
from  them  pictures  of  the  deeds  of  all  people  of  all  times. 
Now,  the  events  that  thus  occur  in  the  presence  of  the 
pupil's  senses  belong  in  the  domain  of  all  the  institutions 
of  human  society.  He  is  born  into  and  remains  a  mem- 
ber of  the  family.  He  early  learns  the  connection  between 
occupations  and  his  supply  of  food  and  clothing.  At  six 
he  enters  school,  and,  it  is  quite  likely,  before  this  he  has 
been  to  Sunday  school  and  church.  If  he  is  an  average 
boy,  long  ere  this  he  has  taken  an  active  personal  interest 
in  a  political  campaign.  There  thus  seems  to  be  a  pretty 


258  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY    TEACHING. 

wide  field  here  which  the  pupil  has  already  entered.  Why 
should  not  this  work,  spontaneously  begun,  be  taken  up 
and  carried  further  by  the  teacher  ?  It  would  seem  that 
a  fuller  and  a  more  systematic  study  could  be  commenced 
when  the  pupil  first  enters  school.  It  might  be  well  to 
let  this  spontaneous  process  go  on  for  two  or  three  years 
longer,  till  .the  class  has  covered  all  Sense  work  in  geog- 
raphy except  that  which  relates  to  man.  Such  an  arrange- 
ment would  permit  the  teacher  to  combine  this  last  part 
of  Sense  geography  with  Sense  history.  The  two  subjects, 
in  material  and  point  of  view,  are  practically  the  same. 

In  order  that  we  may  accomplish  definite  results,  the  end 
toward  which  we  work  must  be  clearly  in  mind.  A  defin- 
ite purpose  will,  also,  direct  in  the  selection  of  the  material 
for  work.  The  answer  may  be  given  in  terms  of  discipline 
and  of  knowledge.  1.  On  the  side  of  discipline  :  (a)  the 
primary  object  is  to  confer  the  habit  of  judging  men's 
thoughts  and  feelings  through  their  acts ;  (£)  a  secondary 
end  is  to  give  the  mind  the  habit  of  careful  observation  — 
the  habit  of  finding  truth  in  objects  present  to  the  senses. 
2.  On  the  side  of  knowledge  :  (a)  the  primary  object  is  to 
give  the  mind  material  out  of  which  the  imagination  may 
construct  pictures  of  historical  events ;  (&)  the  secondary 
purpose,  or  rather  result,  is  to  give  a  more  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  local  institutions.  The  primary  end  on  the  side  of 
discipline  is  peculiar  to  history.  No  other  subject,  in  all 
its  phases,  puts  the  mind  to  the  test  of  finding  man's  head 
and  heart  in  his  acts.  This  is  a  power  conferred  by  the 
study  of  history  at  every  point.  It  should  not  be  lost  sight 


THE   SENSE   PHASE   OF   HISTORY.  259 

of  in  the  Sense  phase ;  for  it  seems  very  appropriate  that 
when  the  mind  begins  to  struggle  with  this  problem,  its 
material  should  be  in  its  very  presence  and  be  sensuous 
and  simple.  A  result,  rather  than  a  purpose,  will  be  to 
give  the  mind  the  habit  of  studying  objects  that  appeal  to 
the  sense.  This  is  not  peculiar  to  this  kind  of  history 
work,  but  is  rather  a  mental  result  to  which  many  subjects 
contribute.  The  primary  end  aimed  at  on  the  side  of 
knowledge  in  this  phase  of  the  work  grows  out  of  the  rela- 
tion between  the  Sense  and  the  Eepresentative  phases  of 
mental  life.  Because  of  the  close  dependence  between 
them,  it  is  right  to  say  that  Sense  history  has  its  highest 
significance  in  the  fact  that  it  gives  the  mind  the  material 
that  makes  possible  the  next  stage  of  the  work,  —  a  stage 
in  which  the  mind  is  busy  in  constructing  pictures  of  the 
past.  Most  of  the  events  of  history  are  of  this  kind, — 
Representative.  Their  mastery  by  the  higher  powers  of  the 
mind  largely  depends  on  the  clearness  and  fullness  with 
which  the  imagination  can  picture  them.  Now,  the  skill 
of  the  imagination  partly  depends  on  the  material  furnished 
the  mind  through  the  senses.  It  seems  right,  therefore, 
to  say  that  the  primary  aim  here  is  to  prepare  for  the  sec- 
ond phase  of  history  study.  Since  the  events  dealt  with 
in  Representative  history  must  reach  the  mind  through  the 
language  of  books  or  of  teachers,  it  is  right  to  say  that  this 
first  phase  of  work  prepares  the  mind  to  put  meaning  into 
the  language,  by  means  of  which  events  are  described  to 
the  imagination.  It  is  no  unusual  thing  for  the  pupil  not 
to  be  able  to  put  content  into  the  words  of  the  history  text. 


260  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY    TEACHING. 

He  feels  that  a  recitation  must  be  made,  and  Ms  only  re- 
source is  to  commit  the  language  of  the  lesson.  In  such 
cases  the  book  fails  to  arouse  the  pupil's  imagination,  be- 
cause the  content  of  the  book  is  foreign  to  any  of  his  pre- 
vious experiences.  In  other  words,  the  pupil  has  not  been 
properly  prepared  for  the  ideas  and  vocabulary  ol;  the  his- 
tory text.  From  this  point  of  view,  we  seem  justified  in 
holding  that  the  primary  purpose  in  Sense  history  is  to 
prepare  the  mind  for  the  second  phase  of  the  study.  This 
makes  it  clear  that  a  knowledge  of  local  institutions  is  a 
result,  rather  an  end ;  or  it  may  be  regarded  as  a  means 
to  the  primary  end.  This  signifies  that  local  institutions 
are  to  be  studied  only  in  so  far  as  they  prepare  material  for 
the  imagination.  The  knowledge  of  affairs  could  hardly 
be  the  primary  aim  in  this  kind  of  work  on  account  of  the 
degree  of  mental  strength. 

The  Material  for  Sense  History.  —  The  matter  presented 
is  intended  to  be  merely  suggestive  —  to  indicate  the  lines 
of  work  which  this  phase  of  history  opens  up  to  the  teacher. 
This  work  presupposes  two  things :  1.  That  the  pupil  has 
been  in  school  two  or  three  years  and  has  finished  the 
Sense  phase  of  geography,  except  that  part  dealing  with 
man  and  his  institutions.  2.  That  the  teacher  sees  the 
intimate  connection  between  Sense  political  geography 
and  Sense  history. 

In  opening  up  a  new  field  of  study  to  the  immature 
mind,  the  point  of  beginning  is  a  question  of  some  impor- 
tance. If  the  subject  is  a  difficult  one,  the  part  taken  first 
is  determined  by  the  principle  that  the  mind  deals  most 


THE   SENSE   PHASE   OF   HISTORY.  261 

easily  with  material  familiar  to  it  through  frequent  and 
intimate  experience.  With  which  institution  should  the 
child  begin  his  observation  ?  In  obedience  to  the  principle 
stated  we  must  find  that  institution  in  which  the  acts  of 
man  fall  easiest  within  the  limits  of  the  child's  powers, 
and  whose  customs  and  ideas  have  entered  most  fully 
into  his  everyday  life.  The  institution  that  has  furnished 
him  the  widest  range  of  concrete  and  sensuous  experience 
must  furnish  the  material  for  the  first  series  of  lessons. 

These  conditions  seem  to  be  most  fully  met  by  the 
family.  Into  this  institution  the  pupil  was  born  eight  or 
nine  years  ago.  He  has  differentiated  himself  from  the 
rest  of  his  young  friends  by  recognizing  himself  as  a  mem- 
ber of  a  certain  family,  and  has  put  them  into  groups  on 
the  basis  of  family  connections.  His  wants  and  desires  have 
been  supplied  by  the  family,  and  around  it  and  its  mem- 
bers his  affections  have  twined  themselves.  These  facts, 
and  many  more  akin  to  them,  seem  to  point  to  the  family 
as  the  form  of  institutional  life  with  which  the  work  may 
most  easily  and  profitably  begin.  The  question  now  is 
what  the  family  furnishes  for  his  observation  that  will  aid 
in  the  study  of  social  life  of  a  past  age  —  will  aid  in  pictur- 
ing their  life  of  customs  and  deeds,  and  in  making  infer- 
ences -from  these  as  to  their  thought  and  feeling.  The 
following  topics  point  the  way  toward  the  answer  :  — 

1.  The  relationship  between  parents  and  children.  The 
main  ideas  here  are  the  parents  as  lawgivers  and  the  chil- 
dren as  obedient  subjects.  The  pupil  can  see  himself  under 
a  rule  of  action  common  to  each  member  of  his  related 


262  ELEMENTAKY   HISTOKY   TEACHING. 

group,  and  must  see  some  of  the  results  that  attend  obedi- 
ence and  disobedience.  These  are  ideas  that  he  will  meet 
many  times,  and  in  Bible  history  he  will  be  called  on  to 
construct  a  system  of  government  built  out  of  the  family 
tie.  Whenever  the  family  is  met,  he  should  picture  the 
home  and  its  relationships. 

2.  Relation  of  the  family  to  food,  clothing,  and  shelter. 
This  will  bring  the  pupil  to  study  a  subject  that  has  touched 
him  very  intimately.     The  common  duties  that  he  has  to 
perform,  as  a  member  of  the  family,  can  be  traced  so  that 
he  will  see  their  relation  to  his  physical  wants.    The  lesson 
of  mutual  dependence  can  also  be  learned,  —  how  the  physi- 
cal and  social  good  of  each  is  linked  to  that  of  the  whole. 
The  position  of  each  member  of  the  family  as  to  ownership 
in  property,  and  the  law  and  custom  of  his  community 
bearing  on  the  distribution  of  the  property  among  children, 
furnish  interesting  and  valuable  topics. 

3.  Relationship  between  families.      This  subject  opens 
the  whole  field  of  observable  social  life.     The  study  of  cus- 
toms —  particularly  those  pastimes  and  games  in  which 
people  engage  for  pleasure  —  will  be  an  inviting  field  to 
the  young  pupil;  and,  all  unconsciously,  he  will  lay  up  a 
vast  fund  of  material  out  of  which  he  will  construct  the 
social  life  of  the  past,  particularly  that  part  of  it  pertain- 
ing to  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  olden  time. 

Intimately  connected  with  the  family  is  the  industrial 
life  of  the  community.  We  have  seen  that  the  pupil  has 
had  a  wide  range  of  experience  relating  to  food  and  cloth- 
ing, —  the  most  tangible  results  of  industry.  He  has  felt 


THE   SENSE   PHASE   OF   HISTORY.  263 

his  dependence  upon  them  in  the  study  of  the  family ;  hence 
it  seems  very  easy  to  make  the  transition  from  the  study 
of  social,  to  the  study  of  industrial,  life.  This  new  field 
opens  a  wide  range  of  simple  observable  facts.  Here  are  a 
few  lines  that  may  be  worked  out :  — 

1.  The  kinds  of  occupations  and  their  relation  to  one 
another.     The  lesson  of  mutual  dependence  can  be  taught 
here  again,  but  on  a  much  wider  scale  than  was  illustrated 
in  the  family. 

2.  Effect  of  different  kinds  of  occupations  on  the  habits 
and  customs  of  the  people. 

3.  The  protection  of  property  by  law.     From  the*  pupil's 
own  observation,  a  study  must  be  made  of  the  process  by 
which  this  is  done.     This  would  include  the  arrest  and 
temporary  imprisonment  of  the  accused,  summoning  wit- 
nesses, the  trial,  and  the  punishment.     In  dealing  with  a 
concrete  case,  in  which  trial  and  punishment  follow  as  a 
means  to  protect  property,  a  good  opportunity  is  offered  to 
judge  of  the  thought  and  feeling  of  men  as  expressed  in 
their  acts.     What  did  the  owner  of  the  property  and  his 
neighbors  do  when  the  theft  occurred?     Why?     The  an- 
swer must  come  in  terms  of  their  thoughts  and  feelings. 
How  does  the  accused  man  feel,  and  what  does  he  think  ? 
How  do  you  know?     Why  should  he  be  tried,  and  what  is 
the  purpose  of  fining  and  imprisoning   him?     The  pupil 
may  not  be  able  to  penetrate  and  fully  interpret  all  these 
acts ;  but  this  is  so  vital  an  act  of  mind  in  all  historical  in- 
vestigation that  the  pupil  cannot  begin  too  soon,  and  push 
it  as  far  as  his  strength  will  allow. 


264  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY    TEACHING. 

The  study  of  the  school  at  first  hand,  so  as  to  get  his- 
torical material,  is  more  difficult  —  less  concrete  —  than  in 
the  institutions  already  examined :  1.  Something  of  the 
intention  of  his  parents  in  sending  him  to  school  may  be 
brought  out,  —  its  industrial  significance,  perhaps  ;  but  cer- 
tainly nothing  of  its  higher  significance  can  be  inferred  by 
him.  2.  The  idea  of  the  free  character  of  the  school  must 
be  presented  to  him,  with  as  much  of  its  significance  as  he 
can  master.  3.  The  different  grades  of  schools  and  their 
wide  distribution  will  suggest  what  an  ambitious  person 
may  do.  4.  How  the  teacher  is  selected  and  paid,  and  the 
pupil's  relation  to  him  in  the  school. 

The  institution  we  call  the  church  is,  in  most  of  its  phases, 
beyond  the  child's  power.  But  even  here  something  may 
be  done  by  observation  and  study  :  1.  The  kinds  of  religious 
denominations  and  their  feeling  toward  one  another.  In  a 
general  way,  the  pupil  may  see  that  the  people  separate  into 
sects  because  of  a  difference  in  thoughts.  2.  The  purpose 
of  the  church  and  Sunday  school  determined  from  the  acts 
they  do.  3.  The  social  customs  connected  with  the  church. 

There  is  another  very  important  and  still  more  fruitful 
field  for  Sense  work  in  history,  —  the  political.  The  fol- 
lowing points  may  be  helpful  in  suggesting  where  material 
in  this  field  may  be  found :  — 

1.  Every  neighborhood  furnishes  the  pupil  examples  of 
men  set  apart  by  some  process  to  perform  the  duties  of 
local  government.  The  mode  of  selection,  the  purpose,  and 
duties  of  such  officers  should  be  brought  under  the  pupil's 
observation. 


THE   SENSE   PHASE   OP   HISTORY.  265 

2.  If  he  lives  in  town  or  city,  there  is  still  greater  op- 
portunity for  Sense  study ;  the  policeman  in  uniform,  the 
mayor,  the  assessor,  the  men  who  work  in  the  streets,  — 
each  of  these  calls  for  attention  and  has  its  own  lesson. 

3.  Political  events,  especially  those  connected  with  state 
and  national  campaigns,   furnish  abundant   and   valuable 
material  for  the  end  we  have  in  view.     Besides,  by  the  con- 
crete and  sensuous  character  of  the  events,  they  have  moved 
his  feelings  very  intensely  —  much  more  so  than  the  events 
in  the  other  phases  of  life.     The  boy,  and  the  girl  too,  for 
that  matter,  has  not  lived  very  long  until  his  sympathies 
have  been  deeply  enlisted  in  a  political  campaign.     The 
chances  are  that  long  before  ten  years  of  age  he  has  partici- 
pated in  more  than  one  political  demonstration.      What- 
ever may  be  said  about  the  desirability  of  a  child  partici- 
pating so  early  in  political  prejudices,  it  is  certainly  true 
that  it  gives  him  an  abundant  supply  of  material  to  aid  in 
putting  content  into  events  of  a  kindred  nature  which  he 
will  soon  be  dealing  with  —  events  that  can  only  appear  to 
him  in  the  realm  of  imagination.     All  the  glitter  and  show, 
pomp  and  parade,  noise  and  music  of  a  campaign  are  not 
lost  on  a  boy.     They  have  a  value  for  him  far  beyond  the 
immediate  present.     Think  of  the  gorgeous  picture  that 
flashes  before  his  senses  and  impresses  itself  upon  his  mem- 
ory :  brass  bands,  large  numbers  of  great  decorated  wagons 
drawn  by  spans  of  spirited  horses,  and  filled  with  grace  and 
beauty,  great  men  riding  in  state,  —  governors,  senators, 
statesmen,    and  orators,  —  uniformed  ranks  with  stately 
tread,  long  lines  of  brilliant  torches,  the  flash  and  flare  of 


266  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY    TEACHING. 

fireworks,  the  roar  of  cannon,  the  billows  of  human  huzzas, 
triumphal  arches,  and  banners  with  inscriptions  ! 

Two  boys  —  one  has  never  seen  this  picture  or  its  like, 
while  the  other  has  been  a  part  of  it ;  which  of  them  can 
picture  most  fully  and  vividly  a  Roman  triumph,  the  cele- 
bration of  a  king's  coronation,  the  greeting  that  Columbus 
received  on  his  first  return  to  Spain,  the  arrival  of  the 
royal  governor  in  Virginia,  the  processions  that  paid  honor 
to  Washington  as  he  passed  through  the  land,  the  grand 
review  in  Washington  at  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  ?  There 
can  be  but  one  answer.  Again,  this  observation  of  a  politi- 
cal demonstration  on  the  part  of  the  pupil  gives  the  teacher 
a  rare  opportunity  to  cultivate  the  historic  judgment. 
What  were  his  feelings  ?  Why  did  he  participate  in  the 
parade  ?  What  was  the  purpose  of  the  other  people  in  tak- 
ing part,  and  what  was  their  feeling?  Prove  the  answer. 
How  did  the  persons  who  staid  at  home  and  refused  to 
join  the  demonstration  feel?  Prove  it.  By  questions, 
the  pupil  may  be  led  to  analyze  the  outside  show  and  the 
inner  significance  of  a  political  demonstration. 

The  interest  in  local  institutions  which  should  take  root 
in  this  phase  of  the  work  ought  to  grow  throughout  life. 
A  permanent  and  abiding  interest  in  the  home  community 
is  closely  akin  to  intelligent  patriotism,  and  may  be  secured' 
by  means  of  a  line  of  work  dealing  with  some  phase  of 
local  institutional  life  and  extending  over  the  entire  period 
of  school  work.  At  each  step  the  facts  studied  must  be 
present  to  the  pupil  through  personal  observation,  if  pos- 
sible, and  in  no  case  should  they  consist  of  a  bare  enumer- 


THE   SENSE   PHASE   OP   HISTORY.  267 

ation  of  certain  local  dignitaries  by  means  of  an  official 
terminology.  The  concrete  institutional  process  is  what 
the  pupil  should  see,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  understand. 
In  the  beginnings  of  such  observation,  more  of  the  con- 
crete process  will  be  seen  and  less  of  its  meaning  under- 
stood, but  the  growth  of  power  over  the  latter  will  come 
with  continued  effort  and  wider  observation. 

Such  work  not  only  finds  its  justification  in  its  bearing 
on  the  affairs  of  the  community,  but  also  in  the  fact  that 
it  furnishes  a  basis  in  actual  experience  for  the  proper 
understanding  of  all  history.  As  this  work  grows,  the 
teacher  will  observe  an  increasing  capacity  and  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  pupil  to  make  the  connection  between  the 
historical  products  of  his  own  community  and  state,  and 
the  historical  process  which  he  is  tracing  in  the  events  of 
the  past.  The  presence  of  such  a  power  and  inclination 
should  be  hailed  with  delight  on  the  part  of  the  teacher 
and  should  be  properly  stimulated  by  increased  oppor- 
tunities. Such  work  has  a  sort  of  double  value :  it  lifts 
the  institutional  facts  of  the  community  up  to  their  place 
in  the  general  historical  process  and  at  the  same  time 
brings  the  apparently  remote  historical  movement  down 
to  the  present,  and  roots  it  among  the  concrete  life  of 
which  the  pupil  is  a  part.  For  every  discovery  thus  made 
the  pupil  will  become  a  better  citizen  and  a  better  student 
of  history.  There  is  no  time-limit  to  this  process  of  mak- 
ing local  institutions,  and  the  historical  processes  of  insti- 
tutions contribute  to  the  understanding  of  each  other.  It 
is  not  desirable  to  give  equal  attention  to  both  phases,  but 


268  ELEMENTARY   HISTORY   TEACHING. 

complete  separation  at  any  time  in  the  study  of  American 
history  makes  the  best  results  impossible. 

The  conclusion  is  that  first-hand  experience  with  insti- 
tutions in  the  concrete,  all  along  the  line  of  historical 
study,  will  not  only  enrich  the  life  of  the  coming  citizen, 
but  will  add  many  fold  to  the  pupil's  and  student's  power 
over  the  great  historical  past. 


THE   REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF  HISTORY. 


THE  GENERAL  PROBLEM. 

Nature  and  Immediate  Purpose.  —  Any  attempt  to  draw 
sharp  lines  of  separation  between  the  phases  of  history 
based  on  the  phases  of  mental  activity  will  result  in  harm 
These  phases  are  not  rigidly  distinct.  They  transfuse  — 
each  is  found  in  the  others  and  is  necessary  to  their  high- 
est form.  The  Representative  phase  of  history  looks  two 
ways,  —  back  to  Sense  material,  and  forward  to  Reflective 
work.  We  know  that  one  purpose  of  Sense  history  is  to 
furnish  the  memory  an  abundance  of  rich  material  upon 
which  the  imagination  can  draw  in  the  process  of  .creating 
in  pictured  form  the  history  of  our  country.  While  it  is 
true  that  in  the  first  phase  of  the  work  the  mind  is  mainly 
absorbed  in  sensuous  events  which  it  mainly  uses  in  the 
second,  yet  as  the  pupils  go  through  life  the  senses  are 
open  and  the  material  is  used  at  every  stage.  So,  too, 
the  judgment,  in  some  of  its  forms,  is  present  in  the  first 
two  stages  of  the  work  as  well  as  predominant  in  the  third. 

The  immediate  purpose  of  the  Representative  phase  of 
history  is  to  give  the  mind  that  peculiar  form  of  activity 
which  its  stage  of  growth  calls  for.  As  the  mind  passes 
from  immaturity  to  maturity,  it  enters  a  phase  of  activity 
in  which  Representation  seems  to  be  very  active.  At  this 


270  ELEMENTABY   HISTORY   TEACHING. 

period  the  mind  delights  in  image-making  —  takes  more 
interest  in  this  form  of  exercise  than  in  any  other,  and 
more  interest  now  than  it  will  at  any  other  time  in  its 
development.  It  ought,  therefore,  to  be  given  all  the 
opportunity  it  craves  for  this  form  of  exercise.  In  history 
this  may  be  done  by  causing  the  mind  to  transform  into 
pictures  of  historical  events  the  material  it  gathered  in 
Sense  history.  To  cultivate  —  stimulate  and  strengthen  — 
the  imagination  is  the  immediate  intellectual  end  to  be  held 
in  view  in  this  second  stage  of  the  work. 

There  is,  as  there  must  be  in  all  nature,  a  beautiful  har- 
mony between  this  form  of  mental  activity  and  a  peculiar 
form  of  historical  phenomena.  There  is  not  only  a  phase 
of  mind  activity  that  we  may  designate  as  the  Representa- 
tive, but  there  is  a  form  of  historical  material  that  fits  into 
this  side  of  the  mind's  life  and  is  adapted  to  stimulate  it. 
We  have  seen  all  along  the  way  that  history  has  to  deal 
with  two  sets  of  parallel  phenomena,  an  inner  and  an  outer, 
—  ideas  and  events.  The  latter  is  sensuous  and  external, 
and  can  be  reproduced  in  imagination  with  all  the  attri- 
butes that  characterized  it  in  its  sensuous  form  —  just  as 
it  appeared  to  the  eyes  and  ears  of  the  men  who  witnessed 
it.  So  true  is  the  imagination  to  the  senses,  if  it  has  an 
opportunity,  that  one  may  become  so  absorbed  in  the  pic- 
ture ,it  paints  as  to  feel  for  a  moment  that  he  stands  in  the 
very  presence  of  the  scenes  recounted  —  it  may  be,  as  a 
participant  in  them.  When  we  reflect  upon  the  fact  that 
every  great  wave  of  human  thought  and  feeling  has 
expressed  itself  in  external  phenomena  that  may  thus  "be 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OP   HISTORY.  271 

vividly  reproduced  by  the  imagination,  it  becomes  evident 
that  this  phase  of  historical  knowledge  must  play  an  impor- 
tant part  in  the  study  of  any  portion  of  this  subject ;  and  it 
may  well  become  our  immediate  purpose  on  the  side  of 
knowledge  to  give  the  imagination  possession  of  this  form 
of  historical  material. 

This  phase  of  the  study  has  been  called,  not  inappro- 
priately, the  Story  side  of  history.  The  name  is  significant 
because  it  emphasizes  that  which  charms  us  most  in  the 
real  story,  —  the  movement  of  a  stream  of  pictures  which 
the  story  sets  going  in  our  imagination.  These  charm  us 
by  the  ease  with  which  they  come  and  go,  and  by  the  rich- 
ness and  variety  they  present.  The  characters  are  concrete 
—  they  are  given  a  sensuous  setting.  This  is  not  unlike 
what  happens  in  the  Representative  or  Story  side  of  his- 
tory ;  the  pupil  becomes  consciously  interested  in  the  acts 
and  actors  that  history  reproduces,  as  it  were,  before  his 
very  eyes.  It  is  this  side  of  the  objects  presented  that 
interests  and  absorbs  him  rather  than  the  possible  rela- 
tions which  may  be  revealed  by  the  judgment  under  the 
direction  of  the  teacher. 

The  conclusion  must  not  be  drawn  that  imagination  is< 
the  only  form  of  mental  activity  in  this  kind  of  work. 
This   would  be   far   from  the  truth.     The_  judjgnent^.is , 
always  present,  even  when  the  imagination  is  at  its  best. 
Neither   one   excludes   the  other,  but  they  are  mutually 
helpful.     The  historical  form  of  the  judgment  —  in  which 
it  infers  thought  and  feeling  from  acts  —  is  really  depend- 
ent upon  the  imagination  for  its  material.     Thought  and 


272  ELEMENTARY   HISTORY   TEACHING. 

feeling  cannot  be  inferred  unless  the  imagination  calls  the 
deeds  back  to  life  again.  In  its  turn  the  work  of  the  judg- 
ment reacts  upon  the  pictured  scene  and  not  only  makes  it 
more  vivid,  but  more  permanent  as  well.  Let  us  call  up 
the  picture  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  at  the  close  of  the 
second  retreat.  How  different  is  the  scene  inside  and  out- 
side of  the  breastworks  !  As  the  imagination  pictures  the 
hill-slope  strewn  with  British  dead  and  wounded,  and  the 
Americans  comparatively  unhurt  behind  their  rude  fort, 
the  judgment  finds  an  explanation  in  the  relation  which 
the  fort  bears  to  the  parties  in  conflict.  What  is  the 
effect  on  the  picture  of  the  judgment  passing  from  fort  to 
British  and  from  fort  to  Americans  as  it  searches  for  the 
explanation?  There  can  be  but  one  result,  —  a  stronger 
and  more  lasting  picture  of  the  scene.  The  parts  of  the 
picture  are  no  more  the  simple,  independent  parts  they 
were  when  the  imagination  first  began  to  light  up  the  scene, 
but  now  they  are  tied  together  forever  by  the  relation  of 
contrasted  results  due  to  the  same  cause.  It  seems  to  me 
that  it  will  always  be  an  aid  to  the  imagination  for  the 
judgment  to  go  rumaging  among  the  parts  of  its  pictures 
to  find  relations. 

If  the  above  be  true,  this  question  may  be  raised  :  Why 
not  make  the  search  for  these  relations  by  the  judgment 
the  immediate  purpose,  on  the  side  of  knowledge,  for  which 
the  second  phase  of  history  is  studied?  Three  reasons 
point  rather  to  the  immediate  purpose  as  stated  above  : 
1.  The  mind  at  this  stage  makes  pictures  more  easily  than 
it  searches  for  relations.  2.  The  picture  work  is  more 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF    HISTORY.  273 

interesting  and  absorbs  attention  and  effort  more  easily. 
3.  This  phase  of  historical  material  must  come  into  the 
mind's  possession  as  the  basis  for  higher  work.  It  seems 
desirable,  therefore,  that  picture-making  should  character- 
ize the  work  at  some  time.  If  it  is  not  done  in  this  period 
of  the  child's  life,  it  will  stand  in  his  way  when  the  teacher 
is  turning  the  emphasis  of  conscious  effort  toward  the  reflec- 
tive side  of  the  work ;  it  will  then  mean  that  the  pupil 
must  do  the  work  that  could  have  been  better  done  at  an 
earlier  date  —  that  he  must  now  expend  a  portion  of  his 
energy  in  filling  out  the  picture  side  of  events  instead  of 
concentrating  all  his  power  on  the  discovery  of  relations. 
Many  illustrations  of  the  disadvantage  such  a  pupil  must 
labor  under  may  be  given,  but  the  case  is  so  plain  that  it 
hardly  needs  more  than  a  statement  to  be  accepted. 

The  Remote  Purpose.  —  The  above  point  brings  us  face 
to  face  with  the  question  of  the  remote  ends  to  be  gained 
by  the  Representative  phase  of  history  work.  Of  course, 
the  mind  cannot  rest  with  this  kind  of  work  and  attain 
either  the  greatest  degree  of  strength  or  the  highest  form 
of  knowledge  the  subject  is  capable  of  yielding.  If  the 
pupil  is  conscious  of  an  end  in  this  work,  it  is  very  likely 
that  he  thinks  only  of  the  immediate  end  on  the  side  of 
knowledge.  He  is  not  conscious  of  a  remote  end.  What 
if  the  teacher  is  in  the  same  predicament  ?  In  order  that 
the  pupil  may  do  the  picture-making  side  of  his  work  well, 
the  teacher  must  be  living  under  the  inspiration  that  comes 
from  an  end  that  is  outside  of  and  beyond  the  little  piece 
of  work  that  she  may  be  laboring  upon.  There  is  little 


274  ELEMENTARY    HiSTOKY   TEACHING. 

hope  for  pupil  or  teacher  if  the  latter  does  not  see  in  this 
phase  of  work  the  steps  on  which  the  pupil  is  to  climb  to 
higher  realms.  The  remote  end  must  always  control  the 
immediate,  for  the  latter  is  means  to  the  former.  How 
shall  the  means  be  handled  ?  How  shall  the  picture-mak- 
ing phase  of  work  be  carried  on,  —  in  what  spirit,  along 
what  lines,  and  to  what  extent  in  any  line  ?  Now  these 
questions  cannot  be  answered  unless  the  teacher  sees  how 
this  work  is  to  issue  in  power  to  gain  more  and  higher 
knowledge  —  unless  the  remote  end  is  constantly  before 
the  mind  as  the  guiding  light. 

In  discussing  the  remote  ends  to  be  reached  by  this  kind 
of  history  teaching,  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  distinguish 
between  discipline  and  knowledge.  Both  the  kind  of 
mental  exercise  and  the  form  of  knowledge  to  be  reached 
will  perhaps  serve  equally  well  as  remote  ends  to  guide 
one  in  leading  the  pupil  so  that  he  gets  the  best  discipline 
in  this  phase  of  the  work,  and  at  the  same  time  lays  the 
best  foundation  for  the  new  work.1 

The  Ethical  Purpose.  —  It  will  be  observed  that  the 
ends  discussed  above  relate  to  the  intellectual  side  of  this 
phase  of  the  work.  Ethical  or  moral  results  in  teaching 
are  ends  in  themselves  and  can  hardly  be  discriminated  as 
immediate  and  remote ;  at  least  they  need  not  be  so  differ- 
entiated for  this  discussion.  The  formation  of  a  noble 

1  It  is  quite  possible  that  the  distinction  between  teaching  for  dis- 
cipline and  teaching  for  knowledge  is  a  mechanical  one,  and  that  the 
teaching  for  highest  discipline  is  precisely  the  teaching  that  gives  the 
highest  knowledge. 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF   HISTORY.  275 

character  is  the  primary  aim  of  teaching.  In  respect  to 
the  development  of  the  ethical  side  of  such  a  character, 
history,  from  the  nature  of  its  material,  lends  itself  to 
such  an  end  more  readily  and  more  efficiently  than  many 
other  subjects.  This  appears  from  the  discussion  relating 
to  the  ethical  value  of  interpretation,  and  will  be  further 
reenforced  by  the  investigation  into  the  material  appro- 
priate for  Representative  history.  Indeed,  the  ethical 
element  is  present,  in  some  degree,  in  every  stage  of  his- 
tory work,  and  must  be  taken  into  consideration.  Wher- 
ever history  reveals  a  conflict  between  individual  men, 
between  parties  of  men,  between  nations,  or,  where  the 
view  is  profound  enough,  between  ideas  themselves,  there 
will  appear  the  ethical  element  and  there  will  exist  the 
opportunity  to  add  fresh  stimulus  to  the  ethical  nature  of 
pupil  or  student. 

Although  the  intellectual  and  ethical  purposes  of  this 
phase  of  work  have  been  separated  for  purposes  of  discus- 
sion, it  must  not  be  inferred  that  the  elements  of  character 
to  which  they  correspond  are  so  separated.  Character  is 
so  completely  a  unit  that  it  is  pedagogically  dangerous  to 
isolate  its  elements  even  in  thought.  They  are  essential 
and  cooperating  parts  in  the  organic  process  called  life  or 
character.  Hence  the  danger  of  setting  up  one  of  these 
elements  as  the  supreme  end  in  the  teaching  of  any  phase 
of  history  work. 


276  ELEMENTARY   HISTORY    TEACHING. 

MATERIAL  FOR  REPRESENTATIVE  HISTORY. 

The  Starting-point.  —  What  the  pupil  may  accomplish 
in  this  phase  of  the  work  is  partly  determined  by  the 
amount  of  his  first-hand  experience  with  institutions  in 
the  concrete  and  by  the  characteristics  of  his  mental  life 
at  this  stage.  The  material  to  be  selected  and  the  way  in 
which  it  is  to  be  handled  are  controlled,  in  addition  to  the 
above  considerations,  by  the  ends  to  be  held  in  view.  It 
will  be  taken  for  granted  that  the  pupil,  in  the  following 
discussions,  begins  this  work  at  eight  or  ten  years  of  age 
and  has  had  such  an  experience  with  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity as  was  indicated  in  the  preceding  stage.  With 
these  principles  in  mind  we  may  inquire  how  the  pupil 
should  be  led  from  the  sensible  present  back  into  the  pic- 
tured past  in  order  that  he  may  begin  properly  the  return 
journey.  How  far  back  shall  we  go,  — back  a  generation 
or  two,  back  to  colonial  days,  back  to  the  European  homes 
of  the  early  colonists,  or  back  to  the  heroes  of  Greece  and 
Rome? 

The  remote  purpose  of  Representative  history  probably 
points  to  colonial  life  as  the  proper  beginning-point.  This 
purpose  demands  that  the  selection  of  material  and  its 
method  of  treatment  shall  prepare  for  the  next  higher 
phase  of  work.  In  order  to  make  the  best  preparation  for 
work  in  which  the  powers  of  the  understanding  become  the 
dominant  form  of  activity,  the  memory  and  imagination 
must  first  come  into  possession  of  the  picturable  side  of 
those  events  and  movements  which  furnish  the  material 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF   HISTORY.  277 

for  this  higher  study.  When  a  mind  grapples  with  the 
content  of  those  events  and  movements  whose  story  is 
already  mastered,  how  great  the'  advantage  over  the  one 
which  must  master  story  and  content  at  the  same  time  ! 
It  may  be  urged  that  this  remote  end  calls  for  pictures  of 
the  colonists  in  their  European  homes.  There  are  two 
considerations  against  this  :  European  life  is  not  an  end 
in  the  study  of  American  history,  and  if  studied,  it  is  for 
the  light  it  throws  upon  colonial  life  ;  again,  the  European 
life  of  the  colonist  was  vastly  more  complex  than  his  life 
in  America,  and  too  far  removed,  as  a  type,  from  what  was 
planted  in  America  and  from  the  institutional  life  which 
has  fallen  under  the  pupil's  observation. 

These  considerations  in  favor  of  beginning  with  colonial 
history  as  against  a  related  phase  of  European  history  are 
to  be  urged  with  added  force  against  making  Grecian  and 
Roman  story  the  beginning-point  in  history  for  American 
children.  One  may  admit  the  argument  drawn  from  the 
culture-epoch  theory,  and  yet  not  be  compelled  to  admit  it 
as  decisive  of  the  case,  since  the  same  elements  of  life 
existed  to  a  large  extent  in  the  American  colonial  period. 
Perhaps  this  life  was  not  so  entirely  na'ive  as  among  the 
ancients,  and  yet  it  was  so  truly  heroic  and  so  adventurous 
that  it  only  needs  the  hand  of  a  master  to  furnish  Ameri- 
can children  with  all  those  elements  of  culture  which  are 
supposed  to  be  derived  from  the  stories  of  Greece  and 
Rome.  When  we  consider,  in  addition,  that  this  old  life, 
with  all  its  simplicity,  is  so  far  removed  from  us  in  time, 
spirit,  and  external  setting,  that  it  is  impossible  for  the 


278  ELEMENTARY    HISTOKY    TEACHING. 

pupil  to  obtain  a  correct  picture  of  it,  we  are  compelled  to 
surrender  it  as  a  beginning-point  for  primary  history,  to 
say  nothing  of  its  not  furnishing  material  for  the  next 
phase  of  American  history. 

Lines  of  Transition  from  the  Present  into  the  Past.  — 
If  colonial  life  is  accepted  as  the  starting-point  of  the  new 
phase  of  work,  we  may  now  turn  back  and  ask  how  the 
transition  is  to  be  made  easy  in  passing  from  the  work 
of  sense  to  this  new  field  of  the  imagination.  Are  there 
means  by  which  the  transfer  of  attention  and  interest  may 
be  easily  and  effectively  made  ?  Can  the  mind  of  the 
pupil  be  given  a  new  motive  that  will  carry  him  over  into 
the  new  field  ?  The  teacher  must  be  able  to  answer  these 
questions  in  the  affirmative,  for  it  is  of  vital  consequence 
to  the  pupil  at  least  to  feel  that  there  is  some  connection 
between  the  facts  studied  that  makes  rt  appropriate  to 
proceed  in  a  given  order.  Disastrous  results  come  to  him 
from  jumping  around  here  and  there  without  reason  or 
motive  being  apparent  —  disastrous  to  the  pupil's  habit  of 
thought  and  to  a  true  idea  of  the  nature  of  history.  The 
line  of  transition,  therefore,  must  connect  at  one  end  with 
the  pupil's  experience,  and  at  the  other  with  the  new  field 
of  work. 

Pupils  who  live  in  the  "  thirteen  colonies  "  enjoy  a  great 
advantage  in  finding  an  easy  and  natural  transition  from 
the  present  to  colonial  times.  This  link  of  connection  is 
furnished  by  the  external  evidences  of  the  struggle  for 
independence.  These  evidences  may  consist  of  remains  of 
forts,  lines  marking  battlefields,  houses  of  celebrated 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF    HISTORY.  279 

characters,  halls  where  assemblies  were  held,  or  monuments 
commemorating  famous  men  and  events.  Here  we  have  a 
happy  combination  of  Sense  and  Representative  history. 
The  remains  themselves  are  sensuous,  while  the  men  and 
events  associated  are  present  only  in  memory  and  imagina- 
tion. How  much  more  real  are  the  men  and  events  felt  to 
be  when  the  senses  join  hands  with  the  imagination  in  their 
representation  !  Local  history,  when  it  is  possible,  would 
seem  to  furnish  the  most  natural  and  easiest  transition  for 
the  young  feeling  their  way  back  into  the  past. 

Even  in  those  communities  where  historical  remains  are 
wanting,  the  pupil  has  hardly  reached  this  age  without  hav- 
ing had  his  curiosity  excited  by  some  hint  or  story  to  the 
effect  that  the  place  where  he  now  resides  has  not  always 
been  the  abode  of  his  kinsmen  or  of  the  people  of  the 
same  race.  He  has,  110  doubt,  heard  stories  and  may  have 
seen  evidences  of  the  existence  of  the  red  man  in  the  place 
where  now  are  farms,  villages,  or  cities.  He  perhaps 
knows  that  the  face  of  the  country,  in  that  distant  time, 
was  uncultivated  and  likely  covered  with  dense  forests. 
Then  again,  he  has  a  general  idea  that  his  parents,  or 
more  likely  his  grandparents,  came  from  the  eastward,  and 
perhaps  that  there  has  been  a  general  movement  of  the 
white  people  from  the  East  toward  the  West.  If  this 
material  is  not  at  hand  through  experience  and  contact 
with  people  and  things,  then  the  teacher  must  furnish  it 
through  familiar  conversation,  or  lead  him  to  search  at 
home  and  among  friends  for  such  evidence  as  may  be  at 
hand  to  indicate  the  presence  here  of  another  race  and 


280  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY    TEACHING. 

the  absence  of  the  white  one,  and  of  the  procession  of  the 
latter  from  the  Atlantic  toward  the  West. 

A  Background  for  Colonial  Life.  —  This  should  contain 
a  general  notion  of  the  country  as  covered  by  great  forests 
filled  with  animal  life,  such  as  the  first  settlers  found  here, 
and  on  which  the  Indians  partly  subsisted.  The  natives 
themselves  will  form  an  important  part  of  this  back- 
ground, —  their  appearance,  modes  of  life,  and  other  ideas 
and  customs.  It  is  not  meant  to  suggest  any  detailed 
study  of  the  Indians,  as  the  subject  might  well  tempt 
one  to  do  with  pupils  at  this  age,  for  they  do  not  form 
an  essential  and  permanent  feature  of  our  historical  life. 
The  aim  here  is  to  create  a  background  so  the  pupil  can 
see  step  by  step  the  progress  of  the  whites  to  the  west- 
ward, and  at  the  same  time  will  have  in  mind  some  condi- 
tions that  will  make  clear  the  conflicts  between  the  white 
and  red  men,  and  why  the  latter  were  gradually  driven 
westward. 

The  Colony  and  the  Institution  with  which  to  Begin.  — 
With  this  part  of  the  story  done,  the  teacher  is  con- 
fronted with  another  question  :  Where  shall  the  account 
of  the  life  of  the  colonies  begin,  and  how  shall  the  work 
be  distributed  ?  Let  us  look  at  the  last  question  first. 
The  people  who  came  to  America  were  not  entirely  homo- 
geneous in  institutional  life;  in  fact,  we  may  find  four 
pretty  distinct  types,  —  English,  Dutch,  French,  and 
Spanish.  Somewhere  in  this  phase  lessons  must  be 
given  on  the  last  three  types,  but  not  at  the  beginning, 
for  they  are  too  foreign  —  too  far  removed  from  the 


BEPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF    HISTOKY.  281 

child's  experience  to  serve  as  a  beginning-place.  Among 
the  thirteen  colonies  we  have  four  pretty  well-marked 
classes,  —  the  Puritan  of  New  England,  the  planter  and 
slaveholder  of  the  South,  the  Pennsylvania  Quaker,  and 
the  Dutchman  of  New  York.  Any  picture  of  colonial  life 
without  the  shadings  and  variety  of  at  least  these  four 
forms  would  be  very  incomplete.  In  excluding  the  French 
and  Spanish  from  the  beginnings  of  this  phase  of  the 
work,  the  first  question  has  been  narrowed  to  this :  Which 
phase  of  colonial  life  selected  offers  the  best  conditions 
for  a  beginning-point  ?  The  answer  lies,  perhaps,  between 
the  New  England  and  southern  life.  Since  the  Quakers 
came  to  America  so  much  later  than  the  others,  it  would 
seem  awkward  to  begin  with  them,  and'  the  Dutch  are 
farthest  removed.  As  between  the  remaining  groups  the 
difference  in  time  is  so  sma^ll  as  to  constitute  no  argument 
in  favor  of  the  southern  group,  the  choice  must  fall  on 
New  England,  at  least  for  northern  pupils,  for  the  reason 
that  the  contrast  between  the  observation  and  experience 
of  the  pupils  and  the  life  of  New  England  is  not  so  wide 
as  in  the  case  of  the  other  colonies. 

We  now  have  another  question  to  clear  up  :  Which 
phase  of  New  England  history  shall  furnish  material  for 
the  first  round  of  Kepresentative  work  ?  Shall  we  follow 
the  order  of  the  leading  events,  beginning  with  the  arrival 
of  the  Mayflower,  and  move  on  down  toward  the  Revolu- 
tion, or  shall  we  go  to  the  home  life  of  this  simple,  earnest 
folk  and  get  as  close  as  possible  to  their  everyday  expe- 
rience, and  then  follow  out  each  institution  in  order  of 


282  ELEMENTARY   HISTORY   TEACHING. 

difficulty?  The  Sense  work  points  to  the  latter  line  as 
most  appropriate  at  this  stage  of  the  pupil's  knowledge 
and  strength.  The  emphasis  which  he  placed  on  the  social 
side  of  the  Sense  work  gave  him  material  out  of  which  he 
can  more  easily  construct  the  same  form  of  life  among  the 
peoples  of  the  past.  It  ought  to  be  added,  however,  that 
at  a  later  stage  of  the  Representative  phase,  the  leading 
events  of  New  England's  history  should  be  taken  up  and 
followed  out  in  order  of  occurrence,  for  the  immediate 
purpose  of  filling  the  imagination  with  full,  vivid  pictures 
of  them,  The  nature  of  these  events  —  Indian  wars,  dis- 
putes about  claims,  banishment  of  Roger  Williams,  estab- 
lishment of  representative  government,  New  England 
union,  persecution  of  the  Quakers  —  removed  them  much 
farther  from  the  pupil's  experience  than  the  simpler  facts 
of  family  and  industrial  life.  Besides,  there  is  no  par- 
ticular gain  to  the  pupil  in  following  the  order  of  events 
unless  he  can  catch  the  meaning  of  the  order. 

FORMS  IN  WHICH    REPRESENTATIVE   MATERIAL   MAT   BE 
PRESENTED. 

Here  is  another  question  :  In  what  form  shall  the  work 
be  presented  to  the  pupil  ?  Shall  it  be  given  in  the  ordi- 
nary narrative-descriptive  form,  modified  to  suit  his  capa- 
city, or  shall  this  beginning  work  be  woven  into  the  form 
of  a  story  ?  There  are  really  three  ways  of  getting  this 
Representative  material  before  him  :  1.  The  story  that 
centers  around  an  ideal  person.  2.  The  story  whose 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF   HISTORY.  283 

center  is  a  real  historical  personage.    3.  The  story  that  is 
built  about  events  and  institutions  as  the  center. 

The  Story  of  the  Ideal  Historical  Person.  —  The  choice 
between  these  is  first  between  the  first  two  and  the  last. 
The  young  are  more  easily  interested  in'  persons  than  in 
events  and  institutional  customs.  The  marshaling  of 
historical  facts  around  an  interesting  personage  —  ideal 
or  real  —  gives  them  a  coloring  and  depth  of  interest  that 
can  be  supplied  in  no  other  way.  These  facts  become 
invested  with  a  portion  of  the  interest  and  the  attributes 
of  life  that  attach  to  the  person  whose  career  and  expe- 
riences are  being  followed.  But  events  and  persons  in 
general  do  not  find  the  same  response  from,  the  primary 
pupil.  They  may  find  some,  but  these  do  not,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  come  so  near  the  child's  experience 
gathered  from  his  environment.  So  that  it  would  seem 
to  be  best,  ordinarily,  to  begin  with  the  story.  Perhaps 
there  is  a  choice  between  the  two  classes  of  stories.  Let 
us  see  by  trying  the  same  test,  —  the  child's  experience. 
Which  comes  nearer  this,  the  ideal  or  the  real  historical 
person  ?  Perhaps  this  depends  upon  their  nature.  It  is 
not  clear  that  an  ideal  historical  personage  who  thinks 
and  acts  like  mature  men  and  women  would  have  much 
advantage  over  the  real  characters  in  history.  But  sup- 
pose the  hero  or  heroine  was  a  boy  or  girl  whose  plane  of 
thought  and  living  was  not  much  beyond  that  of  the  pupil. 
It  seems  quite  clear  that  such  an  ideal  historical  character 
might  be  the  center  of  a  story  that  would  stand  much 
nearer  the  pupil  than  any  story  the  teacher  could  build 


284  ELEMENTARY   HISTORY   TEACHING. 

around  the  full-grown  man  or  woman  of  history.  This 
does  not  mean  that  no  historical  facts  beyond  the  grade  of 
the  pupil's  observation  may  be  gathered  around  the  his- 
torical boy  or  girl.  For  the  opposite  can  be  and  has  been 
done  in  the  case  of  Ten  Boys  on  the  Road  from  Long  Ago 
to  Now.  The  truth  is  that  the  real  child  takes  an  inter- 
est in  things  far  beyond  his  ability  to  understand  their 
connections.  By  being  interested  in  adult  people  he  be- 
comes interested  in  the  doings  of  adult  people.  For  this 
reason  the  historical  story  whose  center  is  an  ideal  boy 
or  girl  may  introduce  facts  and  events  pertaining  to  the 
various  customs  and  institutions  of  human  society,  provid- 
ing these  are  associated  with  persons  in  whom  the  ideal 
boy  or  girl  has  a  natural  interest.  In  the  little  work 
alluded  to  above,  we  see  it  illustrated  in  the  case  of  each 
of  the  ten  characters.  It  is  plain  in  the  case  of  the  Aryan 
boy  when  he  participates  in  the  rude  worship  of  his  fam- 
ily or  follows  the  migrations  of  his  kindred  down  into  the 
plains  of  the  Indus.  Again,  what  real  child  will  not  sym- 
pathize with  the  ideal  lad,  Ezekiel,  when  he  calls  out  to  his 
mother  from  the  anguish  of  his  little  heart,  as  he  sees 
his  father  dragged  to  jail  :  "  How  shall  we  get  father 
back  again?  "  It  even  makes  a  different  impression  upon 
the  adult  mind,  because  of  the  personal  interest  in  Ezekiel, 
than  would  the  account  in  the  ordinary  text  of  the  perse- 
cution of  the  Puritans  in  the  time  of  James  I.  Here  are 
great  questions  brought  down  to  the  child's  own  level 
without  losing  entirely  their  real  historical  significance. 
When  Ezekiel's  father  comes  back  from  the  harsh  treat- 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF   HISTORY.  285 

ment  of  the  prison,  what  need  is  there  to  search  for  other 
causes  of  the  Puritan  migration  to  New  England  ?  In 
other  words,  great  facts  of  history  may  be  made  to  fasten 
themselves  into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  our  pupils,  because 
these  facts  are  seen  to  have  fastened  themselves  into  the 
hearts  and  thoughts  of  boys  and  girls  in  whom  the  pupils 
have  an  interest.  This  is  based  on  a  universal  law  of 
human  life,  —  that  life  begets  life  ;  sympathy  calls  forth 
sympathy ;  conditions  and  experiences  not  too  foreign 
call  from  the  human  heart  the  same  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings that  are  experienced  by  the  parties  who  live  under 
the  conditions  and  undergo  the  experiences.  This  prin- 
ciple is  the  explanation  of  much  of  the  success  or 
failure  of  the  history  work  in  primary  and  secondary 
schools. 

What  is  contended  for  in  this  phase  of  Representative 
history  is  a  presentation  that  parallels  such  geographical 
stories  as  the  Seven  Little  Sisters,  Each  and  All,  and 
Little  Folks  of  the  Other  Lands.  Some  very  meritori- 
ous beginnings  have  been  made  in  other  fields  of  history, 
as  may  be  seen  with  reference  to  the  list  of  books  bearing 
on  this  phase  of  the  work ;  but  very  few  writers  have  taken 
advantage  of  the  rich  field  of  colonial  life,  for  the  benefit 
of  American  boys  and  girls.  There  is  hardly  lacking  a 
single  element  to  make  such  a  story  absorbingly  interesting 
to  primary  pupils.  Such  an  account  would  reveal  how 
boys  and  girls  lived  in  that  far-off  time :  what  they  ate  and 
by  what  means  it  was  prepared  at  its  various  stages,  and 
from  whence  it  was  obtained ;  what  sort  of  clothing  for  the 


286  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY    TEACHING. 

body  and  the  covering  for  the  feet,  and  the  instruments 
and  methods  by  which  each  was  prepared ;  what  sort  of 
homes,  how  built  and  furnished  ;  what  the  sons  and  daugh- 
ters of  that  time  did  to  help  on  the  family  life ;  what  their 
pastimes  and  pleasures  were  ;  their  opportunities  for  study 
and  the  character  of  the  books  they  read  or  heard  read ; 
how  these  young  friends  participated  in  the  affairs  of  the 
other  institutions  or  took  an  interest  in  those  who  did ;  a 
thousand  absorbing  features  could  be  discovered  in  colonial 
history,  by  the  skillful  story-teller,  to  lend  their  charms  to 
such  a  book  or  to  such  a  story  told  at  first  hand  to  the 
pupils  by  the  teacher.  It  must  not  be  inferred  that  be- 
cause books  dealing  with  this  sort  of  material  are  scarce 
that  the  work  may  not  go  on.  In  fact,  there  are  hundreds 
of  teachers  who  can  present  the  material  in  an  oral  form 
so  as  to  seem  much  more  real  and  excite  more  interest  than 
if  presented  in  a  story  read.  In  the  first  place,  it  must  lose 
something  in  being  read  —  being  given  second  hand.  In 
the  second  place,  there  is  a  naturalness  and  directness  in 
the  oral  story  that  is  missing  in  the  one  read.  Besides, 
many  more  teachers  can  tell  a  story  fairly  well  than  be- 
lieve they  can.  The  greatest  difficulty  is  overcome  when 
the  right  sort  of  material  is  collected  and  the  nature  and 
purpose  of  the  work  is  appreciated. 

It  has  already  been  stated  that  American  colonial  history 
furnishes  some  very  appropriate  material  for  this  work. 
What  more  unique  and  interesting  characters  could  be 
woven  into  an  historical  story  than  a  Puritan  boy  and  girl  ? 
The  wealth  of  incident  here  would  be  the  only  serious 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF   HISTORY.  287 

drawback.  The  hard  struggle  of  the  first  families  against 
climate  and  hunger ;  how  a  few  families  formed  a  town 
which  grew  by  additions  ;  how  the  church  and  the  school 
occupied  much  of  the  children's  time ;  what  their  experi- 
ences were  with  the  Indians;  how  they  felt  and  acted 
toward  them,  and  what  an  Indian  war  meant ;  how  these 
Puritan  families  in  the  town  got  their  living;  what  pas- 
times were  regarded  as  innocent  and  what  as  injurious ; 
how  the  little  town  dealt  with  offenders  against  law  and 
custom ;  the  high  respect  and  esteem  with  which  all  held 
the  minister  of  the  village ;  the  Puritan  boy  must  go  with 
his  father  and  his  neighbors  to  the  fishing-grounds  and  see 
how  this  important  supply  of  food  is  obtained  and  witness 
the  entire  process  by  which  it  is  prepared  for  use  and  for 
the  market,  and  then  visit  with  the  merchant  ships  the 
lands  where  the  fish  are  exchanged  for  other  products  and 
for  ready  money.  Such  a  story  might  very  appropriately 
cover  the  period  from  1630  to  1660  and  be  succeeded  by 
another  covering  the  Quaker  agitation,  the  trouble  with 
Andros,  and  the  witchcraft  delusion,  and  perhaps  some 
scenes  from  King  William's  war.  In  the  first  half  of  the 
eighteenth  century  we  must  have  a  story  that  gathers 
around  it  the  great  struggle  between  the  English  and  the 
French  for  possession  of  the  fur-trade  and  the  fishing- 
ground  along  the  Atlantic.  Into  this  could  be  woven  the 
growth  of  smuggling  and  piracy,  and  how  finally  the  col- 
onists carried  on  smuggling  in  the  face  of  such  laws  as  the 
Sugar  Act,  and  how  many  of  them  built  up  vast  industries 
on  this  illicit  trade. 


288  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY   TEACHING. 

In  deep  and  striking  contrast  with  the  stories  of  New 
England  life,  as  seen  through  youthful  eyes,  would  stand 
the  experience  of  a  planter's  son  and  daughter.  What  dif- 
ferences of  environment ;  life  on  a  plantation  instead  of  in 
a  town  ;  few  associates  instead  of  the  society  of  many ; 
private  instruction  instead  of  the  schools,  and  then  a  long 
journey  to  college  or  a  trip  abroad  for  the  son;  the  pres- 
ence of  negro  slaves ;  now  the  pupil  may  follow  his  hero  to 
the  dock  and  see  the  newly  arrived  slaver  and  her  cargo; 
he  may  hear  the  bargaining  between  owner  and  master; 
and  finally  may  watch  the  landing  of  the  dusky  freight  in 
which  his  hero  is  to  have  a  personal  interest ;  he  may  visit 
the  quarters  and  see  how  they  are  fed  and  clothed;  follow 
them  in  the  performance  of  their  duties  in  the  field  or 
around  the  house ;  and  thus  catch  an  insight  into  the  spirit 
with  which  they  perform  their  allotted  task ;  he  may  be 
permitted  to  hear  the  crack  of  the  slave-driver's  whip.  No 
doubt  the  young  planter  will  reveal  in  his  conduct  the  pride 
of  his  .family  in  their  ancestors,  their  broad  acres,  and  the 
large  drove  of  negroes ;  no  doubt  he  will  also  reveal  his 
feeling  of  social  superiority  over  the  children  of  the  over- 
seer and  the  non-slaveholder.  What  materials  for  an  ab- 
sorbing story  —  nothing  like  it  in  the  rest  of  America  ! 

We  must  not  forget  the  boy  with  the  broad-brimmed  hat 
and  drab  clothes  who  came  over  with  William  Penn  and 
witnessed  the  great  treaty.  There  is  still  another  boy,  liv- 
ing up  on  the  Hudson,  whose  name  is  Knickerbocker;  he 
founded  the  Empire  state,  and  had  many  interesting  expe- 
riences very  different  from  our  other  boys.  Of  course  there 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF   HISTORY.  289 

is  no  reason  why  this  form  of  the  story  should  end  with 
the  colonial  period.  Indeed,  the  periods  of  history  that 
follow  furnish  even  more  abundant  material  than  the  colo- 
nial —  especially  of  military  heroes. 

We  have  outlined,  in  this  brief  way,  a  field  of  work  in 
colonial  history  that  is  practically  unoccupied,  and  which 
eventually  would  yield  rich  results  if  cultivated  by  skillful 
hands.  The  amount  of  time  required  to  do  this  work  will 
depend,  in  part,  upon  the  age  of  the  pupil  and  the  skill  of 
the  teacher.  If  but  one  year  is  spent  upon  the  Sense 
phase  of  the  work,  then  two  years,  at  an  age,  say,  from 
seven  to  nine,  may  profitably  be  given  to  the  story  in  this 
form. 

The  Story  of  the  Real  Historical  Person.  —  While  tht 
pupil  has  been  enriching  his  imagination,  for  a  year  or  so, 
by  work  after  the  kind  indicated  above,  he  has  been  ex- 
tending his  observation  upon  men  and  institutions  and  has 
been  gathering  that  strength  which  inevitably  follows  an 
increase  in  years.  He  is  then  stronger  from  age,  from  ex- 
perience, and  from  the  possession  of  much  historical  mate- 
rial. In  the  order  of  the  difficulty  next  comes  the  second 
form  of  historical  story,  the  one  in  which  the  material 
is  grouped  around  a  real  historical  figure,  —  the  man  of 
flesh  and  blood.  This  is  hero  study  still,  but  of  a  little 
different  sort.  The  hero  now  is  a  man,  or  at  least  soon 
grows  to  be  one.  The  facts  and  events  will,  therefore, 
present  life  in  its  sterner  aspects.  Where  shall  we  find 
our  heroes,  and  who  shall  they  be  ?  In  this  aspect  of  the 
work,  the  teacher  will  be  overwhelmed  with  the  abundance 


290  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY   TEACHING. 

of  the  material.  From  Columbus  to  the  Columbian  Expo- 
sition the  heroes  and  heroines  are  abundant.  Here  is  a 
partial  list  which  may  be  suggestive  as  to  what  is  possible 
in  this  field. 

Discoveries  and  Settlements. 

1.  Columbus  and  the  Finding  of  America. 

2.  Americus  and  the  Naming  of  America. 

3.  Cortez,  the  Conqueror  of  Mexico. 

4.  Champlain,  the  Father  of  New  France. 

5.  La  Salle. 

6.  Marquette. 

7.  Joliet. 

8.  Henry  Hudson  and  the  Half  Moon, 

9.  John  Cabot,  who  first  saw  the  Continent. 

10.  Sir  Francis  Drake,  who  sailed  the  Spanish  Main. 

11.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  who  tried  to  plant  a  Colony. 

12.  Captain  John  Smith,  the  Founder  of  Jamestown. 

13.  Pocahontas,  the  Indian  Queen. 

14.  Captain  Miles  Standish,  the  Pilgrim  Soldier. 

15.  Squanto  and  Samoset,  the  good  Indians. 

16.  Winthrop,  the  long-time  Governor  of  Massachusetts. 

17.  Roger  Williams,  the  Founder  of   Rhode    Island  and  the 

Friend  of  Massachusetts. 

18.  King  Philip,  the  bad  Indian. 

19.  Captain  Kidd,  the  Pirate. 

20.  Peter  Stuyvesant  and  the  Defence  of  New  Amsterdam. 

21.  Nathaniel  Bacon  and  his  Men. 

22.  William  Penn  and  the  Great 'Treaty. 

23.  Governor  Andros,  the  Tyrant  of  New  England. 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF   HISTORY.  291 

The  Period  of  Revolution. 

1.  General  Montcalm,  the  Defender  of  Canada. 

2.  General  Wolfe,  the  Hero  of  Quebec. 

3.  George  Washington,  the  Undaunted. 

4.  Nathaniel  Greene,  the  Strategist  of  the  Revolution. 

5.  General  Stark  and  his  Green  Mountain  Boys. 

6.  Israel  Putnam  and  the  "News  from  Lexington. 
T.  Daniel  Morgan  and  his  Sharpshooters. 

8.  Mad  Anthony  Wayne  and  the  Storming  of  Stony  Point. 

9.  Francis  Marion,  the  Swamp  Fox. 

10.  General  Herkimer  and  the  Relief  of  Fort  Stanwix. 

11.  Paul  Jones  and  his  great  Sea  Fight. 

12.  Paul  Revere,  the  Courier  of  the  Revolution. 

13.  Daniel  Boone,  the  Pioneer  of  Kentucky. 

14.  George  Rogers  Clark  and  the  Campaign  against  Vincennes. 

15.  Samuel  Adams,  the  Firebrand  of  the  Revolution. 

16.  Patrick  Henry,  the  Orator  of  the  Revolution. 

17.  Benjamin  Franklin  and  his  old  brown  Coat. 

18.  La  Fayette,  the  Friend  of  Washington  and  America. 

19.  Light  Horse  Harry,  the  Cavalry  Captain. 

20.  Jennie  McCrea  and  Burgoyne's  Allies. 

21.  How  Colonel  Washington  made  his  Mark  at  the  Battle  of 

Cowpens. 

22.  Robert  Morris,  the  Financier  of  the  Revolution. 

The  Ethical  Value  of  Studying  Historical  Persons.— 

This  stage  of  work  can  be  made  to  yield  some  valuable 
pedagogical  results,  so  far  as  the  spiritual  life  of  the  child 
is  concerned.  In  the  discussions  upon  the  educational  value 
of  interpretation  and  other  logical  processes,  we  saw  a  pecu- 
liar ethical  value  resulting  from  a  study  of  motives  to  action 


292  ELEMENTARY    HISTOBY    TEACHING. 

in  men,  parties,  and  nations.  But  in  the  work  described 
above  there  is  added  another  element,  namely,  admiration 
for  that  which  is  heroic.  No  more  powerful  formative 
influence  can  take  hold  on  the  heart  and  mind  of  the  pupil 
than  a  splendid  heroic  character.  The  life  of  the  child 
grows  toward  the  life  he  studies  and  admires.  He  will 
consciously  strive  to  realize  in  his  own  conduct  what 
attracts  him  in  the  conduct  of  his  hero.  If  the  admiration 
is  strong,  the  pupil  may  look  upon  all  his  acts  —  good  or 
bad  —  as  worthy  of  imitation.  No  doubt  the  unconscious 
influence  of  such  study  is  even  greater  than  the  conscious. 
It  reaches  into  the  life  of  the  pupil  in  a  way  that  eludes 
the  teacher  and  parent,  —  both  wonder  where  certain  opin- 
ions and  actions  originate  without  being  able  to  discover 
the  cause  ;  even  the  pupil  cannot  explain  it,  for  he  is  not 
conscious  in  many  instances  of  following  any  one  in  his 
conduct. 

Hero  worship  partly  explains  the  attraction  which  youth- 
ful minds  find  in  the  cheap  novel.  Surely,  the  teacher 
should  be  as  wise  as  the  novelist,  and  may  be  wiser  than 
some  novelists,  for  in  a  measure  the  teacher  may  select  the 
characters  presented  for  study  and  moral  guidance.  In 
making  this  selection  the  teacher  will  be  guided  by  the 
ethical  welfare  of  the  pupil,  and  will  certainly  not  feed  the 
young  imagination  and  emotions  upon  abnormal  examples 
of  either  goodness  or  wickedness ;  and  while  it  is  no  doubt 
wise  that  gentle,  generous,  noble,  self-sacrificing,  and  patri- 
otic characters  should  constitute  the  predominant  themes 
for  study,  yet  it  remains  true  that  real  life  for  which 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF   HISTORY.  293 

the  pupil  is  preparing  will  present  many  characters  just 
the  opposite  of  what  it  is  possible  to  select  for  him  from  the 
pages  of  history.  In  the  affairs  of  life  it  will  be  just  as 
necessary  for  his  own  good  and  that  of  his  country  that  he 
should  courageously  condemn  the  low  and  base  as  praise 
the  noble  and  brave. 

Can  hero  study  be  made  to  stimulate  not  only  admiration 
for  the  good,  but  condemnation  for  the  bad  ?  In  two  ways, 
it  seems  to  me,  this  result  may  be  reached.  First,  by 
watching  a  hero  in  his  struggle  against  the  wrong.  This 
increases  admiration  for  the  hero.  Second,  by  presenting 
the  opposite  sort  of  hero  now  and  then,  so  that  the  pupil's 
hatred  for  cowards,  traitors,  thieves,  and  self-seekers  may 
be  strengthened,  and  his  appreciation  of  the  noble  qualities 
of  men  may  be  stronger  by  seeing  the  evil  results  that  flow 
from  men  of  opposite  character.  Under  certain  limitations 
ignoble  conduct  excites  greater  respect  and  admiration  for 
its  opposite,  and  may  cause  the  pupil  to  resolve  to  avoid  it, 
and  practice,  and  otherwise  promote,  the  positive  virtues. 
This  can  be  successfully  accomplished  by  the  wise  lead- 
ings of  the  teacher.  Not  much  of  the  interpretation  of 
the  conduct  of  noble  characters  is  necessary,  for  their  lives 
speak  a  language  directly  to  the  heart ;  but  the  negative 
character,  like  Arnold  or  General  Charles  Lee,  must  be 
handled  with  more  care.  Their  lives  illustrate  how  per- 
sons of  great  ability  in  high  places  may  be  dominated  by 
selfish  ends  and  bring  great  injury  upon  themselves,  their 
friends,  and  their  country.  But  too  many  such  cases 
weaken  the  pupil's  faith  in  human  nature,  —  a  most  disas- 


294  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY    TEACHING. 

trous  result,  as  far  as  the  pupil  is  concerned.  For  this 
reason,  as  well  as  for  the  truth  of  history,  the  teachers 
must  see  that  the  positive  rather  than  the  negative  hero 
occupies  the  greater  share  of  this  portion  of  history 
work. 

The  Story  Side  of  the  Event.  —  This  represents  the 
third  form  of  the  historical  story  and  also  the  third  phase 
of  Representative  history.  It  has  been  remarked,  in  other 
connections,  that  events  have  a  sensuous  side  which  lends 
itself  to  reproduction  in  imagination.  The  picturable 
incidents  of  an  event  furnish  the  material  for  weaving 
about  it  a  story.  The  age  and  experience l  of  the  pupil  — 
say,  from  ten  to  fourteen  —  permit  an  interest  in  the  pano- 
rama of  the  event  for  its  own  sake.  There  will  not  be  the 
same  need  of  leaning  upon  an  ideal  or  real  historical  per- 
son as  before.  However,  the  transition  from  the  second 
story  form  to  the  third  should  be  gradual.  The  transition 
may  be  easy  and  natural,  for  the  real  historical  personage 
participates  in  events,  and  it  becomes  only  a  transfer  of 
emphasis  from  one  element  in  the  moving  scene  to 
another. 

There  is  no  need  of  repeating  here  what  has  been  said 
about  the  possibility  of  reproducing  events  —  picturing 
them  in  imagination.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  say  that 
some  features  of  events  yield  themselves  more  readily  to 
reproduction  than  others  ;  in  general,  those  which  appeal 

1  Even  if  the  pupil  has  not  had  the  preliminary  training  in  the 
other  forms  of  the  story,  yet  he  has  been  gaining  some  from  reading 
and  much  from  observing  the  movements  of  events  around  him. 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF    HISTORY.  295 

to  the  eye,  attract  the  ear,  and  touch  the  feelings  of  the 
observer  are  the  ones  most  susceptible  of  vivid  reproduc- 
tion. This  general  rule  may  be  pretty  safely  followed  in 
the  preparation  of  a  story,  if  it  be  constantly  remembered 
that  events  and  their  various  features  are  so  many  signs 
of  thoughts  and  feelings. 

Immediately,  with  respect  to  knowledge,  one  object  in 
view  is  to  give  the  pupil  possession  of  the  picture  side  of 
the  leading  events  of  American  history,  so  that  he  may 
know  how  American  history  appeared  to  the  people  who 
made  it,  and  at  the  same  time  have  some  appreciation  of 
their  thoughts  and  feelings.  Pictures  of  events  may  not 
be  a  high  form  of  historical  knowledge,  but  they  certainly 
do  enrich  the  mind  of  the  possessor.  They  give  to.  it  not 
only  richness  of  imagery,  but  a  variety  that  confers  life 
and  elasticity.  The  very  presence  of  imaged  events  must 
make  the  mind  vastly  more  fertile  than  it  would  otherwise 
be,  and  will  give  it  the  power  of  self-employment  and  self- 
entertainment.  There  is  a  vast  difference  between  young 
persons  who  have  abundant  mental  resources  and  those 
whose  minds  are  empty.  To  give  the  young  people  the 
power  to  call  up  in  brilliant  and  imposing  review  the  pro- 
cession of  events  from  the  beginning  of  American  history 
to  the  present  is  a  task  worthy  of  the  highest  pedagogical 
skill,  especially  when  one  thinks  of  the  consequences  which 
may  flow  from  it. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  form  of  the  story,  emphasis  is 
put  on  the  picturable  side  of  events  ;  but  the  study  of 
their  meaning  must  not  be  neglected.  Although  the  pupil 


RLEMENTAKY    HISTORY   TEACHING. 

is  able  to  get  more  picture  than  meaning,  yet  he  must  get 
all  of  the  latter  his  ability  will  allow.  The  simpler  forms 
of  thought  and  sentiment  of  individuals  and  groups  are 
now  possible  to  him  and  will  add  interest  and  value  to  the 
work.  However,  as  the  pupil  moves  through  this  field, 
the  teacher  should  gradually  shift  the  emphasis  to  the  side 
of  the  event's  content  till  this  feature  dominates  the  work. 
The  transition  should  lie  so  gradual  as  to  be  unconscious 
to  the  pupil  and  in  no  way  diminish  his  efforts  in  gather- 
ing picturable  material  for  the  recitation.  The  lessons 
may  still  be  assigned  in  terms  of  the  external  features  of 
the  event,  while  the  recitation  should  call  for  the  event's 
simpler  relations  and  significance. 

On  the  side  of  mind,  the  immediate  purpose  of  this  sort 
of  story-making  is  to  train  the  imagination  —  to  give  it 
power  and  facility  in  performing  its  functions.  No  richer 
opportunity  of  cultivating  the  sensuous  imagination  will 
ever  come  to  the  pupil;  no  other  subject  will  furnish  it 
more  exercise  than  this  phase  of  history. 

Remotely,  the  purpose  here  is  to  prepare  for  the  begin- 
nings of  that  form  of  history  work  in  which  the  processes 
and  products  of  the  understanding  are  the  characteristic 
features.  This  portion  of  the  Story  side  of  history  forms 
a  natural  transition  to  the  reflective  or  logical  phase.  In 
the  first  place,  it  deals  with  the  same  individual  facts  and 
events  ;  and,  in  the  second  place,  the  action  of  the  judgment 
in  the  form  of  inference  comes  into  play  as  a  constantly 
growing  factor.  The  remarks  already  made  concerning  the 
dependence  of  the  advanced  form  of  history  work  upon  the 


REPRESENTATIVE    PHASE   OF    HISTORY.  297 

picture  form  of  it  had  particular  reference  to  the  picture 
side  of  the  event.  Both  the  unfolding  mental  life  of  the 
pupil  and  the  relation  of  dependence  between  the  phases 
of  history  work  demand  that  the  teacher  shall  look  beyond 
this  particular  form  to  that  higher  toward  which  the  pupil 
is  moving,  and  that  the  present  work  shall  be  constantly 
modified  to  meet  these  more  remote  ends.  It  requires  little 
effort  to  see  the  great  gain  to  the  pupil  who  has  covered 
the  leading  events  of  American  history  in  this  way  when 
he  comes  to  the  more  thoughtful  work. 

There  need  be  little  discussion  as  to  where  appropriate 
material  is  to  be  found.  It  is  abundant  all  along  the  way, 
from  Columbus  to  our  day.  It  will  be  safe  generally  to 
follow  the  order  of  events  as  presented  in  some  good  text 
on  American  history.  While  the  sequence  of  events  is 
now  to  have  weight,  yet  the  teacher  is  not  to  try  to  cover 
each  of  the  events  by  a  story,  but  rather  is  to  make  a 
selection  of  events  determined  partly  by  their  importance 
and  partly  by  the  ease  with  which  the  facts  permit  of  this 
kind  of  treatment.  But  so  far  as  the  materials  for  the 
story  are  concerned,  the  ordinary  text  furnishes  little  more 
than  a  dry  outline.  In  most  cases  it  is  not  adapted  to  this 
sort  of  work.  Generally  it  is  a  skeleton  narrative,  while 
it  ought  to  be  narrative-descriptive,  not  only  exhibiting 
to  the  imagination  interesting  movements  of  men  and 
events,  but  also  presenting  an  abundance  of  concrete  acts 
and  other  details,  which  reveal,  to  some  extent,  the  thoughts 
and  feelings  behind  them.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  no  un- 
common mistake  for  history  text-books  to  do  too  much  for 


298  ELEMENTARY   HISTORY   TEACHING. 

the  pupil x  by  giving  what  he  ought  to  discover  by  interpre- 
tation. The  pupil  is  thus  deprived  of  his  right  to  think 
out  for  himself  what  he  is  easily  capable  of  doing,  and  what 
he  must  be  allowed  to  do,  if  he  is  to  get  growth  out  of  this 
subject.  Instead  of  permitting  independent  effort,  the  text- 
book often  gives  him  a  ready-made  solution,  as  would  be 
said  in  arithmetic,  and  his  only  apparent  work  is  to  memo- 
rize it  and  give  it  back  to  the  teacher  in  the  memorized 
and  unassimilated  form.  Such  a  text-book  deprives  the 
teacher  of  the  opportunity  of  testing  her  skill  in  setting 
problems  in  history  to  the  pupil.  Lacking  this  stimulus, 
she  assigns  the  lesson  in  terms  of  paragraphs  and  pages 
instead  of  content.  Of  course,  this  may  be  avoided  if  the 
teacher  makes  her  own  story  of  the*  event. 

Illustrations  of  Material  and  Method  of  Work.  —  An 
example  of  the  Story  side  of  the  event  will  explain  more 
fully  the  nature  and  purpose  of  this  transitional  phase, 
and  at  the  same  time  illustrate  the  method  to  be  employed. 
Let  us  take  the  Boston  Tea  Party.  This  presupposes  that 
the  pupil  has  dealt  in  like  manner  with  the  Stamp  Act,  the 
Congress  of  1765,  the  Boston  Massacre,  and  other  related 
acts.  We  want  the  pupil  to  look,  as  it  were,  on  the  Boston 
Tea  Party,  and  see  it  just  as  it  occurred.  If  the  teacher 
has  the  power  to  make  him  feel  the  jostle  of  the  crowd 
and  hear  the  voices  of  the  multitude  so  vividly  that  he 
loses  himself  for  the  time  being,  so  much  the  better. 

Early  one  morning,  in  the  middle  of  December,  1773,  on 

1 A  truer  statement  of  this  defect  is  that  the  text-book  does  too 
little  for  the  pupil  by  doing  too  much  for  him. 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF    HISTORY.  299- 

all  the  roads  leading  to  Boston,  for  a  distance  of  twenty 
miles  around,  were  to  be  seen  men  singly  and  in  groups 
making  their  way  to  town.  Let  us  look  at  these  people. 
They  are  engaged  in  earnest  conversation  ;  some  of  them 
speak  loudly,  and  shake  their  heads  and  fists.  As  the  dis- 
tance grows  shorter,  people  are  seen  on  foot ;  the  numbers 
increase  till  it  seems  that  all  the  country  villages  are 
emptying  their  people,  on  that  cold  day,  into  Boston.  As 
these  two  thousand  country  and  village  people  approach 
the  city  they  find  it  all  astir ;  the  shops  and  stores-  are 
closed ;  men  are  gathered  in  groups  discussing  the  question 
whether  the  tea  shall  be  landed  or  not ;  messengers  are 
running  to  and  fro  over  the  city,  and  a  general  movement 
toward  the  "Old  South  Meeting-House  "  is  noticed.  There, 
at  ten  o'clock,  the  vast  crowd  assembles  to  hear  the  answer 
of  the  owner  of  one  of  the  vessels,  whether  he  will  take 
his  cargo  of  hated  tea  back  to  England.  The  meeting 
organizes  by  the  election  of  a  Moderator,  and  Mr.  Rotch, 
the  vessel  owner,  tells  the  meeting  that  the  collector  of  the 
port  refuses  to  let  him  go  back  with  his  tea  ;  the  meeting 
then  orders  him  to  hurry  to  the  governor  and  get  his  per- 
mission to  pass  by  the  guns  of  Castle  William.  While  the 
anxious  owner  goes  in  search  of  the  governor,  who  has 
gone  away  to  his  country  seat  to  avoid  the  crowds,  the 
great  mass  meeting  adjourns  till  the  afternoon. 

At  three  o'clock,  it  seemed  that  all  the  town  tried  to  get 
into  the  "  Old  South  Meeting-House,"  crowding  its  seats 
and  galleries,  standing  in  its  aisles  and  around  the  entrance, 
—  seven  thousand  people  tried  to  hear  and  see  what  was 


300  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY   TEACHING. 

said  and  done.  The  meeting  comes  to  order,  hears  patri- 
otic speeches,  and  passes  resolutions  not  to  allow  the  tea  to 
be  landed.  Great  enthusiasm  is  excited  when  one  speaker 
asks  "how  tea  would  taste  in  salt  water,"  and  another 
said  :  "  Now  the  hand  is  to  the  plough,  there  must  be  no 
looking  back."  Closest  attention  is  given  to  the  earnest 
advice  of  Josiah  Quincy,  as  he  counsels  moderation  and 
prophesies  of  the  great  struggle  near  at  hand.  Samuel 
Adams,  of  course,  was  listened  to  in  that  winter's  after- 
noon. Night  conies  on  and  lights  are  brought  in,  but  no 
answer  is  at  hand  from  the  governor,  and  yet  the  people 
wait.  There  was  a  feeling  "  as  the  cold  night  darkened 
without,  that  the  last  scene  was  about  to  be  enacted."  At 
6.15  Rotch  came  in  and  told  the  breathless  audience  that 
the  governor  would  not  let  the  tea  go  back.  The  people 
began  to  murmur  against  Rotch,  but  Samuel  Adams  arose 
and  said  :  "  This  meeting  can  do  nothing  more  to  save  the 
country."  This  seemed  to  be  a  signal,  for  immediately  the 
war-whoop  of  the  "  Mohawks "  startled  the  audience ;  it 
was  answered  from  the  galleries ;  the  whole  audience  now 
shouts  its  approval,  and  pours  itself  out  into  the  streets 
and  noisily  follows  the  "  Mohawks  "  to  the  wharf  and  there 
witnesses  their  work.  See  the  Indians  clamber  over  the 
sides  of  the  vessel;  whooping  and  brandishing  their  toma- 
hawks, they  rush  down  to  the  hold  and  up  come  the  boxes 
of  tea  —  two  hundred  and  forty  of  them — which  are  thrown 
into  the  sea.  The  work  was  hardly  done  before  the  swift 
couriers  were  hastening  with  the  news  to  leading  Massa- 
chusetts towns.  All  New  England  was  thrilled  by  the 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF   HISTORY.  301 

news  as  it  sped  by  one  means  or  another  from  province  to 
province.  On  the  next  day,  Paul  Revere,  the  courier  of 
the  Revolution,  rode  away  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
to  carry  the  tidings  of  that  day's  work.  At  every  farm- 
house, village,  or  city  he  told  the  story.  There  was  great 
rejoicing,  ringing  of  bells,  bonfires,  speeches,  toasts, —  and 
all  in  honor  of  the  patriots  of  Boston.  Philadelphia  had 
two  meetings  in  celebration  of  the  event,  and  the  last 
one,  attended  by  five  thousand  people,  sent  a  formal  vote  of 
thanks  to  the  Bostonians.  The  news  was  carried  far  to  the 
southward,  and  even  from  the  Carolinas  came  back  words 
of  approbation  and  good  will. 

After  a  fashion,  the  above  paragraph  indicates  the  kind 
of  pictures  the  pupil  should  find  in  a  text-book  or  in  the 
teacher's  stories  adapted  to  this  stage  of  history  work. 
What  shall  the  pupil  do  with  this  sort  of  material  ?  In 
the  first  place,  he  should  not  commit  the  language.  In  the 
second  place,  if  the  teacher  wishes  the  pupil  to  solve  the 
problem  before  the  recitation,  then  the  lesson  will  be 
assigned  in  terms  of  the  thoughts  and  feelings  of  the 
people  ;  while,  if  the  teacher  wishes  the  solution  to  be 
thought  out  in  the  class,  the  lesson  will  be  assigned  in 
terms  of  the  picture.  To  accomplish  the  latter  purpose, 
the  teacher  assigns  the  lesson  about  as  follows  :  1.  Read 
over  the  story  of  the  Tea  Party  till  you  can  see,  with  your 
eyes  shut,  the  acts  of  the  people  from  beginning  to  end. 
2.  Tell  the  number  of  great  scenes  in  the  picture,  and 
describe  the  acts  of  the  people  in  each  great  scene.  These 
directions  will  prepare  the  pupil  for  the  real  struggle  that 


302  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY    TEACHING. 

is  to  take  place  in  the  recitation,  —  the  passing  by  infer- 
ence from  the  deeds  of  the  people  to  their  thoughts  and 
feelings.  But  if  the  former  plan  is  pursued,  the  direc- 
tions may  take  a  form  like  the  following  :  1.  What  con- 
clusions can  you  draw  from  seeing  so  many  country  people 
on  their  way  to  Boston  at  the  same  time  ?  Prove  your 
answer  from  their  acts.  2.  How  were  the  people  of  the 
town  feeling  over  the  question  of  the  tea  ?  Give  reasons. 
3.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  meeting  of  the  country  and 
town  people  all  together,  hearing  and  applauding  the  same 
speeches,  voting  the  same  resolutions,  and  participating  in 
the  destruction  of  the  tea  ?  4.  Did  not  the  persons  who 
destroyed  the  tea  feel  guilty  of  wrong-doing  ?  Prove  your 
answer.  5.  Why  was  the  news  carried  so  quickly  to  the 
Massachusetts  and  other  New  England  towns  ?  6.  Why 
was  Paul  Revere  sent  to  New  York  and  Philadelphia  with 
the  news  of  the  Tea  Party,  and  what  is  the  meaning  of  the 
responses  that  greeted  him  and  the  people  of  Boston  ?  7. 
Did  the  governor  of  Massachusetts  agree  with  the  people  ? 
Prove  the  answer.  8.  What  do  you  infer  as  to  the  effect 
of  the  work  of  the  Tea  Party  on  England  ?  Why  ? 

These  questions,  or  others  of  a  similar  import,  should  be 
put  to  the  class  before  or  during  the  recitation.  If  used  in 
assigning  the  lesson,  they  will  force  the  pupil  to  go  through 
the  language  to  the  ideas  expressed  —  will  force  him  to 
go  down  below  the  surface  play  of  events  into  the  hearts 
and  minds  of  the  people.  This  would  cause  the  pupil  to 
study  and  re-study  the  story  of  the  event,  and  would,  no 
doubt,  leave  him  in  possession  of  as  full  a  picture  of  the 


REPRESENTATIVE    PHASE    OF    HISTORY.  303 

scene  as  if  the  lesson  had  been  assigned  in  terms  of  the  pic- 
ture. How  many  of  these  questions  can  the  pupil  answer  ? 
Nearly,  if  not  quite,  all  of  them.  How  many  can  he  find 
formally  answered  in  the  above  sketch  ?  He  should  find 
none,  or  at  most  a  very  small  number.  Suppose  the  text 
should  indicate  somewhat  in  detail  the  answers  to  these  ques- 
tions. What  difference  would  it  make  to  the  pupil  ?  All  the 
difference  between  the  work  of  an  active  sharpened  judg- 
ment and  the  monotonous  grind  of  the  memory  !  Why  not 
give  the  pupil  an  opportunity  to  think  a  little  in  history  ? 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  this  transition  phase  attention  is 
being  directed  to  the  content  of  the  acts  put  forth.  Now, 
while  this  is  still  Story  work,  yet  the  work  of  stimulating 
the  historical  judgment  must  be  kept  in  mind  and  must 
become  more  and  more  prominent  as  the  student  grows 
stronger  through  discipline  and  knowledge. 

One  more  illustration  will  be  given,  —  somewhat  more 
difficult,  and  taken  from  the  text  of  Montgomery's  Lead- 
ing Facts  of  American  History.  This  will  serve  to  show 
how  the  teacher  may  use  the  material  found  in  certain 
text-books  and  adapt  it  to  this  phase  of  the  work. 

"General  Gage,  having  learned  that  the  colonists  had 
stored  a  quantity  of  powder  and  provisions  for  the  use  of 
their  militia,  at  Concord,  about  twenty  miles  from  Boston, 
sent  a  secret  expedition  to  destroy  both.  The  soldiers 
were  instructed  to  go  by  way  of  Lexington,  and  there 
arrest  Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock,  who  were  known 
to  be  stopping  with  a  friend  in  that  village.  The  London 
papers  boasted  that  the  heads  of  these  two  prominent 


304  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY    TEACHING. 

'  rebels '  would  soon  be  on  exhibition  in  that  city  ;  but,  as 
Gage  found  out,  Adams  and  Hancock  were  not  the  kind  of 
men  to  lose  their  heads  so  easily. 

"The  British  troops  left  Boston  just  before  midnight  of 
April  18,  1775.  Paul  Revere,  a  noted  Boston  patriot,  was 
on  the  watch,  and  as  soon  as  he  saw  his  friends'  signal 
lanterns  hung  out  in  the  steeple  of  the  Old  North  Church, 
—  a  church  still  standing,  —  he  galloped  through  the 
country  giving  the  alarm.  When  he  reached  the  house  in 
Lexington  where  Hancock  and  Adams  were  asleep,  a  man 
on  guard  cried  out  to  him,  '  Don't  make  "so  much  noise.' 
'  Noise ! '  shouted  Revere ;  '  you  '11  have  noise  enough  before 
long  :  the  "  regulars  "  are  coming.' 

"Just  before  daybreak  of  April  19,  the '  regulars '  marched  • 
on  to  the  village  green  of  Lexington,  where  a  number  of 
'  minute  men '  had  collected.  '  Disperse,  ye  rebels,'  shouted 
Pitcairn,  the  British  commander.  No  one  moved  ;  then 
Pitcairn  cried, '  Fire ! '  A  volley  blazed  out,  and  seven  Ameri- 
cans fell  dead.  Advancing  to  Concord,  the  soldiers  de- 
stroyed such  military  stores  as  they  could  find  ;  at  Concord 
Bridge  they  were  met  by  the  patriots.  Both  fired ;  it  was 
the  true  opening  battle  of  the  Revolution,  —  several  men 
fell  on  each  side.  There  the  first  British  blood  was  shed ; 
there  the  first  British  graves  were  dug.  The  'regulars' 
then  drew  back,  leaving  the  Americans  in  possession  of  the 
bridge,  and  began  their  march  toward  Boston. 

"But  the  whole  country  was  now  aroused.  The  enraged 
farmers  fired  at  the  British  from  behind  every  wall,  bush, 
and  tree.  The  march  became  a  retreat,  the  retreat  some- 


REPRESENTATIVE   PHASE   OF    HISTORY.  305 

thing  like  a  run.  When  the  '  regulars '  got  back  to  Lex- 
ington, where  Lord  Percy  met  them  with  reinforcements, 
they  dropped  panting  on  the  ground,  their  tongues  hang- 
ing out  like  those  of  tired  dogs.  From  Lexington  the 
'  minute  men '  chased  the  British  all  the  way  to  Charles- 
town.  Nearly  three  hundred  of  the  '  red-coats,'  as  the 
Americans  nicknamed  the  English  soldiers,  lay  dead  or 
dying  on  the  road. 

"  Percy  had  marched  gaily  out  of  Boston  to  the  tune  of 
'Yankee  Doodle,'  played  in  ridicule  of  the  Americans, 
but  it  was  noticed  that  his  band  did  not  play  it  on  re- 
entering  the  town  —  they  had  had  quite  enough  of  all  that 
was  '  Yankee '  for  that  day. 

"The  next  morning  the  British  army  found  themselves 
shut  up  in  Boston.  The  Americans  had  surrounded  the 
town  on  the  land  side,  and  in  future  no  expedition  could 
leave  it  in  that  direction  without  a  fight.  The  siege  of 
Boston  had  begun." 

The  lesson  on  this  may  be  assigned  with  reference  to 
two  ends  :  picturing  clearly  and  vividly  the  scenes  enacted, 
and  interpreting  the  scenes,  —  getting  into  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  the  contestants. 

If  the  class  have  not  heard  or  read  this  story  before, 
then  the  first  lesson  ought  to  be  assigned  in  terms  of  the 
picture.  Some  directions  like  the  following  may  be  used : 
1.  Read  over  the  lesson  till  you  can  see  all  the  movements 
from  Boston  to  Concord  and  back  again.  2.  Picture  Paul 
Revere  on  the  watch  —  tell  what  you  would  have  seen  had 
you  stood  by.  3.  Go  with  Paul  Revere  as  he  alarmed  the 


306  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY    TEACHING. 

country,  aiid  tell  what  he  did  and  said,  what  the  people  — 
fathers,  sons,  mothers,  children  —  did  and  said,  and  what- 
ever else  might  have  been  seen  and  heard  that  night. 
4.  Picture  the  skirmish  on  Lexington  Green  and  at  Con- 
cord Bridge.  5.  Work  out  all  the  features  of  the  retreat 
to  Lexington.  6.  What  did  the  Yankee  boys  see  and  hear 
who  hid  behind  the  stone  walls  and  watched  the  minute 
men  chase  the  regulars  from  Lexington  to  Charlestown? 

7.  What  differences  did  General  Gage  see  between  the 
British  soldiers  as  they  marched  out  and  as  they  returned? 

8.  What  do  you  see  in  and  around  Boston  the  next  day  ? 
Other  elements  of  the  picture  may  be  brought  out  by  ques- 
tions formulated  to  suit  the  case. 

While  the  narration  and  description  of  events  given 
above  are  better  adapted  to  this  form  of  study  than  that 
given  by  most  texts  of  this  grade,  yet  it  is  very  desirable 
that  the  teacher  suggest  to  the  pupil  the  necessity  of  en- 
riching* certain  scenes  by  reading  other  and  fuller  accounts. 
By  this  means,  different  members  of  the  class  will  be  able 
to  contribute  different  details  to  the  pictures ;  two  gains 
will  be  made,  —  fuller  pictures  and  the  habit  of  looking 
further  than  the  text  for  facts. 

If  the  pupil,  for  any  reason,  can  do  more  and  stronger 
work  than  the  above  questions  call  for,  the  teacher  may  in 
addition  require  an  interpretation  of  the  acts  pictured,  as 
far  as  the  pupil's  ability  will  permit.  The  following  ques- 
tions and  directions  will  illustrate  what  is  meant :  1.  What 
was  the  purpose  of  both  English  and  Americans  with  ref- 
erence to  this  expedition?  Prove  your  answer  from  the 


REPRESENTATIVE    PHASE   OF   HISTORY.  307 

text  and  from  the  acts  of  the  participants.  2.  Which  party 
changed  its  purpose?  Prove  by  citing  facts.  3.  What 
conclusions  do  you  reach  from  the  fact  that  the  expedition 
was  intended  to  be  secret  and  yet  was  watched  ?  What 
other  facts  support  your  conclusions  ?  4.  What  were  the 
feelings  of  the  people  when  Paul  Revere  aroused  them  out 
of  their  sleep  ?  Why  do  you  think  so  ?  5.  Could  Paul 
Revere  alone  have  aroused  enough  farmers  to  defeat 
the  British  ?  What  inferences,  then,  are  safe  to  make  ? 
6.  Contrast  the  thoughts  and  feelings'  of  the  British  regu- 
lars on  leaving  Boston  with  their  thoughts  and  feelings  on 
returning.  Give  reasons. 

It  ought  to  be  clear  that  no  memorizing  of  the  text  of 
the  above  account  can  meet  the  requirements  indicated  by 
the  above  questions  and  directions.  In  truth,  the  pupil 
would  never  be  tempted  to  memorize  words  if  it  were  not 
for  the  teacher.  The  teacher,  by  her  assignment  of  work 
and  method  of  conducting  the  recitation,  forces  the  pupil 
to  commit  the  language  of  the  text.  No  normal  child  takes 
pleasure  in  this  unless  it  is  found  to  be  the  easiest  way  of 
"  getting  the  lesson."  The  illustrations  given  will  indicate 
the  method  to  be  followed  to  break  up  the  habit  when  once 
formed,  as  well  as  to  prevent  its  formation. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  draw  the  contrast  between  this 
method  of  dealing  with  events  and  the  method  usually  fol- 
lowed. Tried  by  any  standard,  one  merits  commendation 
and  the  other  condemnation.  What  if  the  pupil  had  two 
years  of  this  work,  —  touching  the  leading  events  of 
American  history,  —  as  a  preparation  for  the  organization 


308  ELEMENTARY    HISTORY    TEACHING. 

of  that  history  into  such  a  system  as  has  been  indicated  in 
the  first  part  of  this  work  ?  Certainly  he  would  be  in  a 
position  to  begin  earlier  than  is  usual  the  work  of  organiz- 
ing the  material  of  history  in  the  form  of  a  system.  This 
would  also  relieve  him  of  the  task  of  gathering  the  new 
material  of  the  subject,  while  he  ought  to  be  expending 
all  his  energies  in  interpretation  and  other  organizing 
processes. 

We  have  now  come  full  around  again  to  the  last  phase 
of  history  study,  —  that  phase  in  which  the  student's 
knowledge  ends  and  the  teacher's  knowledge  begins. 


HISTORY   BOOKS   FOR  YOUNG   PEOPLE. 


PRIMARY  GRADES. 

1.  Ten  Boys  on  the  Road  from  Long  Ago  to  Now.       Ginn 

*rCo. 

2.  Stories  of  Heroic  Deeds.     American  Book  Co. 

3.  Swiss  Family  Robinson.     Ginn  $  Co. 

4.  Pilgrims  and  Puritans.     Ginn  §•  Co. 

5.  Ten  Great  Events  in  History.     American  Book  Co. 

6.  Stories  of  Our  Country.     American  Book  Co. 

7.  Eggleston's  History  of  the  United  States.     American  Book 

Co. 

8.  Gilman's  Discovery  and  Exploration  of  America.     Inter- 

State  Pub.  Co. 

9.  Gilman's  Colonization  of  America.     Inter-State  Pub.  Co. 

10.  Gilman's   Making  of  the   American    Nation.     Inter-State 

Pub.  Co. 

11.  Grandfather's  Stories.     American  Book  Co. 

12.  American  History  Stories,  Nos.  1-4.     I.  N.  Haiian  (Indi- 

anapolis). 

13.  Pioneer  History  Stories.     First  Series.     Public  School  Pub. 

Co. 

14.  Glasscock's  Stories  of  Columbia.     D.  Appleton  §-  Co. 

15.  Pierson's   History  of   the    United  States  (One  Syllable). 

Geo.  Routledge  ty  Sons. 

16.  Pierson's   Lives  of   the  Presidents  (One  Syllable).     Geo. 

Routledge  Sf  Sons. 


310         HISTORY   BOOKS   FOR   YOUNG   PEOPLE. 


GRAMMAR  GRADES. 

1.  Pratt 's  American  History  Stories,  Nos.  1-4.     Educational 

Pub.  Co. 

2.  Pratt's  Columbus.     Educational  Pub.  Co. 

3.  Pratt's  Pizarro.     Educational  Pub.  Co. 

4.  Pratt's  Cortez  and  Montezuma.     Educational  Pub.  Co. 

5.  Pratt's  Great  West.     Educational  Pub.  Co. 

6.  Pratt's  Stories  of  Massachusetts.     Educational  Pub.  Co. 

7.  Children's  Stories  of  Adventure  and  Discovery. 

8.  Children's  Stories  of  American  Progress. 

9.  Poor  Boys  who  have  become  Famous. 

10.  SewelTs  Paul  Jones. 

11.  Higginson's  Young  Folks'  History  of  the  United  States. 

Lee  §•  Shepard. 

12.  Butterworth's  Young  Folks'  History  of  America.     Lothrop 

frCfc 

13.  Coffin's  Building  of  the  Nation.     Harper  §•  Bros. 

14.  Coffin's  Boys  of  '76.     Harper  fr  Bros. 

15.  Coffin's  Boys  of  '61.     Harper  fr  Bros. 

16.  Coffin's  Old  Times  in  the  Colonies.     Harper  §•  Bros. 

17.  Coffin's  Nights  on  the  Battlefield.     Estes  fy  Lauriat. 

18.  Hawthorne's  Grandfather's  Chair.     Houghton,  Mifflin  §•  Co. 

19.  Page's  Two  Little  Confederates. 

20.  From  Colony  to  Commonwealth.     Ginn  §•  Co. 

21.  Fiske's  War  for  Independence.    Houghton,  Mifflin  §•   Co. 

22.  Brooks'  Historic  Boys.     Putnam's  Sons. 

23.  Brooks'  Historic  Girls.     Putnam's  Sons. 

24.  Abbott's  Peter  Stuyvesant.     Dodd,  Mead  §•  Co. 

25.  Abbott's  Paul  Jones.     Dodd,  Mead  §•  Co. 

26.  Abbott's  Daniel  Boone.     Dodd,  Mead  Sf  Co. 


EJLEMENTARY    HISTORY   TEACHING.  311 

27.  Scudder's  Boston  Town.     Houghton,  Mifflin  if  Co. 

28.  Rolfe's  Tales  from  English  History.     Harper  if  Bros. 

29.  Rolfe's  Tales  from  Scottish  History.     Harper  if  Bros. 

30.  Rolfe's  Tales  from  Chivalry.     Harper  fr  Bros. 

31.  Washington  and  His  Country.     Ginn  §•  Co. 

32.  Chivalric  Days.     Putnam's  Sons. 

33.  With  Lee  in  Virginia.     Scribner's  Sons. 

34.  Scudder's  George  Washington.    Houghton,  Mifflin  tf  Co. 


ANNOUNCEMENTS 


REFERENCE    BOOKS    IN 
HISTORY 


List  Mailing 

price  price 

Abbott:  History  and  Description  of  Roman  Polit- 
ical Institutions $1.50  $1.60 

Allen :  Reader's  Guide  to  English  History      .     .     .       .25  .30 
Andrews :    Droysen's   Outline  of  the  Principles  of 

History i.oo  i.io 

Brigham:  Geographic  Influences  in  American  History     1.25  1.40 
Callender :    Selections  from  the  Economic  History 

of  the  United  States •  .     .     .     .     2.75  2.95 

Channing  and  Hart:  Guide  to  the  Study  of  Ameri- 
can History 2.00  2.15 

Davidson  :   Reference  History  of  the  United  States       .80  .00 

Dyer:   Machiavelli  and  the  Modern  State .     .     .     .      i.oo  i.io 

Feilden  :   Short  Constitutional  History  of  England  .      1.25  1.35 
Getchell :  Study  of  Mediaeval  History  by  the  Library 

Method 50  .55 

Handbooks  on  the  History  of  Religions 

Hopkins :   Religions  of  India 2.00  2.20 

Jastrow  :   Religion  of  Babylonia  and  Assyria  .     .     3.00  3.25 

Saussaye  :   Religion  of  the  Teutons 2.50  2.70 

Keller:  Colonization 3.00  3.20 

Mace:   Method  in  History i.oo  i.io 

Reinsch  :   Readings  on  American  Federal  Govern- 
ment  2.75  2.95 

Richardson,  Ford,  and  Durfee :  Syllabus  of  Conti- 
nental European  History 75  .85 

Riggs:   Studies  in  United  States  History 60  .65 

Robinson:  Readings  in  European  History 

Volume  I 1-50  1-65 

Volume  II 1.50  i-65 

Abridged  Edition 1-5°  i-65 

Robinson  and  Beard:  Readings  in  Modern  Euro- 
pean History 

Volume  1 140  1-5° 

Volume  II 1-50  1-65 

Rupert:  Guide  to  the  Study  of  the  History  and  the 

Constitution  of  the  United  States 70  .75 


GINN  AND   COMPANY  PUBLISHERS 


LEADING  FACTS  OF  AMERICAN 
HISTORY  (NEW  EDITION) 

By  D.  H.  MONTGOMERY 

I2tno,  cloth,  xiv  +  400  +  xcviii  pages.    With  full  maps,  both  black  and  in  color, 
illustrations,  etc.,  $1.00 


MONTGOMERY'S  "  Leading  Facts  of  American  History  "  has 
long  been  one  of  the  best  known  books  in  America.  Its  use  in 
the'  schools  has  proved  that  it  is  one  of  the  few  textbooks  which 
have  really  become  classics.  Its  appearance  in  a  new  form  will 
be  welcomed  by  its  friends  everywhere. 

The  distinguishing  characteristics  are  : 

1.  NEW  FEATURES 

It  has  been  printed  from  new  type,  contains  a  large  number  of  new  illustra- 
tions, and  an  unusually  fine  collection  of  new  maps. 

2.  TEXT  REWRITTEN 

The  text  has  been  thoroughly  brought  up  to  date,  and  much  of  it  has  been 
rewritten.  Many  features  of  the  old  edition,  however,  which  will  long  remain 
incomparable  in  their  excellence,  have  been  retained. 

3.  FACTS    GROUPED 

The  facts  relating  to  a  number  of  important  points  —  such  as  the  cotton  gin, 
the  railway,  telegraph,  immigration,  civil-service  reform,  etc.  —  have  been  so 
grouped  about  the  main  topic  that  the  pupil  will  now  be  able  to  grasp  the  entire 
subject  at  once. 

4.  SPECIAL   REFERENCES 

Special  references  to  standard  works,  such  as  may  be  obtained  in  any  ordinary 
library,  have  been  inserted  at  the  bottom  of  the  page  at  the  beginning  of  every 
new  chapter,  and  the  number  of  cross  references  has  been  greatly  increased. 
These  have  been  inclosed  in  parentheses  and  transferred  from  the  bottom  of 
the  page  to  the  text  itself. 

5.  TABLE  OF  DATES 

Prefixed  to  the  history  and  facing  the  opening  page  is  a  Table  of  Leading 
Dates.  Dates  in  parentheses  are  freely  inserted  throughout  the  text  to  enable 
the  pupil  to  follow  the  chronological  order  of  events.  The  Index  includes  numer- 
ous dates  and  a  pronouncing  vocabulary  of  all  the  difficult  proper  names  occur- 
ring in  the  text. 


GINN  AND  COMPANY  PUBLISHERS 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


S'JBJtcr  TO  FINE;  IF  MOT  R 

EDUCATION  U 
QL  JAN  10  1983 

JUL  2«  1965  ' 

JAN  30  1967RECEIVED 


MAR  24  1971 


E.DU./PSYCH. 
LIBRARY 


i-tB^l'80 


. IF 


Form  L9-116m-8,'62(D1237s8)444 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


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EDUCATION 
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